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The Cowardly Lion 
of Oz 

BY 

RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON 

Founded on and continuing the Famous Oz Stories 
BY 

L. FRANK BAUM 

“Royal Historian of Oz” 



Illustrated by 
JOHN R. NEILL 


The Reilly & Lee Co. 

Chicago 







Printed in the United States of America 



The Cowar dly Lion of 0 z 









Dear Girls and Boys: 

This is the Cowardly Lion’s book, because it is mostly about him 
and the people who were bunting him. Why, I do not believe there 
has been so much excitement in Oz since the Scarecrow fell down 
bis family tree. Imagine anyone daring to bunt our dear old 
jolly friend, just as if be were a common, man-eating creature, 
and imagine— ! But here I go telling the whole story. Read it 
yourself and then tell me exactly what you think of this Mustafa 
of Mudge and bis blue whiskers. 

I hope you will like Snorer. It must be convenient to have a 
radio ear like his. Speaking of radios, if you should happen to 
hear any OZ news over yours will you tell me! Will you? If 
there’s anything I love better than strawberries in January it’s 
Oz news in July or December or August — or any time! 

I’ve had some of the finest letters from boys and girls lately, 
but there is always room in my letter box for just one more. 
Maybe there is one there now from you to dear me? I must run 
down and look. Lots of good Oz luck until the Emerald clock in 
the royal palace strikes book time again! 

Ruth Plumly Thompson. 

Philadelphia, 

July of 1923. 



This book is dedicated to 
My sister 

Dorothy Thompson Curtiss 
and all other lovely Dorothys 
including Dorothy of Oz 

Ruth Plumly Thompson 




hht @f Onapft@ir§ 


Chapter Page 

1 Mustafa of Mudge. 15 

2 Magic at the Circus. 29 

3 At the Court of Mudge. 36 

4 Mustafa’s Mandate . 46 

5 Two Cowardly Lion Hunters. 59 

6 The Seven Doors. 72 

7 The Escape from Doorways. 84 

8 The Cowardly Lion’s Quest. 98 

9 In Search of a Brave Man. 110 

10 On the Isle of Un. 129 

11 A Strange Fishing Party. 144 

12 Saved by a Flyaboutabus. 157 

13 Mustafa’s Blue Magic. 172 

14 Flying in a Deluge. 188 

15 Mustafa Keeps Watch.. 202 

16 A Fall from the Sky. 206 

17 The Stone Man of Oz. 221 

18 Notta’s Last Disguise. 234 

19 In the Emerald City. 247 

20 The Cowardly Lion’s Peril. 260 

21 Oz Magic Triumphs. 276 

22 A Happy Home in Oz. 285 










































































Chapter 1 

Mustafa of Mudge 

“r I 'lAZZ Y WALLER, I must have another lion,” said 
■*> Mustafa of Mudge, giving his blue whiskers a 
terrible tweak. “Another lion, Tazzywaller, at once!” 

“ Your Highness already has nine thousand nine hun¬ 
dred and ninety-nine lions and a half!” said Tazzy wal¬ 
ler bowing humbly. 

“Oh, that!” interrupted Mustafa impatiently. “Very 
15 


The Cowardly Lion of Qz 


careless of you, Tazzywaller, to bring me half a lion— 
the wrong half, too! Monstrous annoying to see the 
back legs and tail of a lion jumping about in the res¬ 
ervation. Unnatural, I call it.” 

“But, your Highness will remember that had not a 
fortunate blow of my scimitar cut off the right half of 
the lion I would have been devoured, eaten, destroyed!” 

Tazzywalleris eyes bulged at the unhappy recollec¬ 
tion. 

“ I’d have endeavored to console myself,” sniffed Mus¬ 
tafa disagreeably, “and Panapee would make an ex¬ 
cellent chamberlain. But this is wasting time. I must 
have another lion. A lion, I tell you, at once!” 

Mustafa’s voice rose to a roar. Springing from his 
throne, he began stamping first one foot, then the other. 
The round face of poor Tazzywaller grew paler at each 
stamp. 

“But there are no more lions in Mudge,” he pleaded. 
“Your Highness must know that. The royal hunters 
have tracked them all down, and even if there were 
more, we cannot afford another single lion. I beg of 
your Highness to consider the nine thousand nine hun¬ 
dred and ninety-nine already eating us out of our san¬ 
dals. The Mudgers are complaining of the lion tax—” 

“Silence!” screamed Mustafa, jumping into the air 
16 



Chapter One 


so that he could stamp both feet at the same time. 

“ You’re making most of the noise yourself,” said Taz- 
zywaller sulkily. 

“What is all this arguing about?” demanded a sleepy 
voice, and through a curtain at the back of the apart¬ 
ment appeared the huge, turbaned head of Mixtuppa, 
Queen of Mudge. 

“Lions!” your Majesty, sighed the chief chamber- 
lain, looking uneasily at Mustafa’s wife, who was even 
more unreasonable than her royal husband. “His 
Highness desires another lion.” 

“Well, why don’t you get him one? You know I 
can’t stand this stamping,” wheezed Mixtuppa irri¬ 
tably. 

“Neither can I,” grumbled Mustafa. “It hurts my 
royal feet.” 

“No one asked you to stamp. Why don’t you stop 
it?” sniffed Tazzywaller. 

“Will you get me the lion?” asked Mustafa, paus¬ 
ing with foot upraised. 

“I would if there were any more, but there are no 
more lions in Mudge!” wailed Tazzywaller. Down 
came Mustafa’s foot with a terrible stamp. 

“Great Gazupp!” screamed the monarch of Mudge. 
“What kind of a chamberlain are you? I’ll appoint 
XI 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

Panapee chamberlain in your place and you —you may 
feed the lions!” he finished furiously. 

Mustafa clapped his hands sharply and to the small 
Mudger who bounced into the room he snapped, “Tell 
Panapee to appear before me at once.” He paid no 
attention to the pleadings of Tazzywaller, who was 
bumping his head on the floor, nor to the advice of Mix- 
tuppa, who was wagging her head through the cur¬ 
tain. The next moment Panapee stood before the 
throne. He was as tall and thin as Tazzywaller was 
round and fat. His little eyes snapped with glee at 
sight of the chamberlain rolling about on the floor. As 
purse bearer he always had to walk back of Tazzywal¬ 
ler in royal processions, and to see his rival in disgrace 
was an exquisite pleasure to the envious old Mudger. 

“ Your Excellency sent for me % ” asked Panapee bow¬ 
ing deeply. 

“Yes,” shrilled Mustafa, pushing back his turban 
and pointing a trembling finger at Tazzywaller. “He 
says there are no more lions in Mudge and I, Mustafa, 
must have another lion.” 

“Your Highness knows best,” murmured Panapee, 
rolling up his eyes and putting his finger tips together. 

“You know as well as I that there are no more lions 
in Mudge,” cried Tazzywaller, springing to his feet 
18 



Chapter One 


and shaking his fist under Panapee’s nose. 

“There are other countries besides Mudge,” said Pan- 
apee loftily. “Now I presume your Highness was 
thinking of an odd, unusual sort of lion; something big¬ 
ger and better than the kind now fighting amiably in 
the royal reservation?” 

“How well you understand me,” sighed Mustafa, 
sinking back among his cushions. “That’s just what 
I do want, Panny—a strange, rare, royal sort of lion; 
one who will keep the rest in order and add to the honor 
and dignity of our court.” 

“I have a book,” confided Panapee, placing his fin¬ 
ger mysteriously beside his nose, “a book of lions, and 
if your Highness will but excuse me I will fetch it from 
my tent.” 

“Are you going to get a lion out of a book?” asked 
Mixtuppa sleepily. “How stupid of Tazzywaller not 
to have thought of that.” 

Now, while Panapee goes for his book, I must tell 
you that Mudge is a blue and barbarous country in the 
southwestern part of the Munchkin country of Oz. It 
is a hot, dry, desert land and the Mudgers themselves 
are a short-tempered, long-legged tribe of trouble¬ 
makers. They live in blue, striped tents and, if it were 
not for their bright blue whiskers, you would take them 
19 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


for Arabs, as they wear sweeping white robes and 
turbans to protect themselves from the heat and des¬ 
ert sands. 

In olden Oz times the Mudgers used to descend upon 
the helpless little countries that surrounded them and 
carry off everything of value. But Glinda, the good 
sorceress of Oz, put a stop to that. One night, flying 
over Mudge in her swan chariot, she had dropped a blue 
book and it had fallen on the oldest Mudger in the 
kingdom, hitting him a terrible blow on the nose. It 
had been a blow to them all, for in gold letters on the 
first page of the book stood this sentence: 

“From this day on, any Mudger leaving the land 
of Mudge shall lose his head. By order of Ozma, 
Ruler of all Oz.” 

There were other warnings in the blue book, but the 
first had changed the whole history of the country. 
No Mudger was brave enough to venture out of Mudge 
after that, so the thieving raids on other countries had 
stopped instantly, and the Mudgers, deprived of the 
pleasure of stealing from their neighbors, stole from 
each other, and were always quarreling among them¬ 
selves and moving their tents from place to place. The 
peoples of the surrounding countries would come to 
the borders of Mudge to bargain for the dates, figs and 
20 



Chapter One 


cocoanuts for which the land was famous, but Mus¬ 
tafa’s grandfather, who was then ruler of the desert 
kingdom, disagreeably decided that since no Mudger 
might leave Mudge no outsider should enter his coun¬ 
try. Warnings were posted on all the borders of Mudge 
and soon no one came near the horrid little kingdom, 
so that it went on growing more blue and barbarous 
all the time, as people are bound to do who have no 
friends or neighbors. 

When Mustafa, who really was not a bad fellow at 
heart, assumed the throne he tried to divert the minds 
of his quarrelsome subjects by organizing hunts. There 
were many lions in the uninhabited parts of the des¬ 
ert, and for a time hunting lions kept the Mudgers out 
of mischief. But soon they were quarreling over even 
that, and the royal hunting expeditions were more in 
the nature of battles than pleasure excursions. 

Mustafa, in despair, confided to Tazzywaller that he 
much preferred the lions to his subjects. So Tazzy¬ 
waller had mildly suggested that he keep a few for 
company. Mustafa, who was terribly bored with his 
duties as King, was delighted with the idea and issued 
orders that hereafter all lions should be brought to the 
royal tents. 

At first he had kept two or three in a large enclosed 
21 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

cage in his garden, but as his subjects grew more un¬ 
manageable, his affection for lions increased. He in¬ 
sisted upon more and more lions, until, as Tazzywal- 
ler had stated, there were nine thousand nine hundred 
ninety-nine and one-half in the royal collection. Mus¬ 
tafa pretended that he kept these lions to frighten 
away the enemies of Mudge, and for this purpose he 
had a large iron enclosure erected all around the king¬ 
dom, so that no one could come in or go out without 
passing through the royal lion reservation. Indeed, 
when the little Munchkin boys and girls recited their 
lessons, they always described Mudge as a country 
entirely surrounded by lions. But this was only an ex¬ 
cuse. Mustafa knew well enough that no one dared 
leave Mudge, and that no one wanted to come there, 
but it sounded well when the people complained of the 
lion tax. 

Mustafa’s lions were a terrible trial to poor Tazzy- 
waller. To keep his position as chief chamberlain of 
Mudge, he must produce a lion whenever Mustafa de¬ 
manded one. This was pretty often. By his orders 
the whole country had been combed for lions and only 
the week before word had been brought that there was 
not another lion left in the whole country. Then Taz- 
zywaller himself had gone hunting, and after an ex- 
22 



Chapter One 


hausting trip had come upon the very last old lion of 
Mudge. When Tazzywaller tried to capture him, the 
beast had selfishly tried to devour the fat chamberlain. 
In protecting himself Tazzywaller cut the old lion in 
two with his scimitar. Before he could remedy the dis¬ 



aster the front, and best part, of the lion had jumped 
over the lion enclosure and disappeared. 

In the Fairy Kingdom of Oz nothing can really be 
killed, so that both halves of the lion were quite un¬ 
hurt and lively, but Mustafa had been very angry when 
Tazzywaller brought him the half he had managed to 
23 







The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

catch. It had almost cost him his position. 

“To think it was I who suggested lions in the first 
place,” groaned poor Tazzy waller. “Lions! Bah! Mus¬ 
tafa has a taste for lions and lions have a taste for me! ” 

“That’s odd of them,” drawled Mixtuppa, rolling her 
blue eyes at Tazzy. “Poor taste I call it!” 

“Silence!” exploded Mustafa so sharply that Mix¬ 
tuppa hastily drew in her head. Mustafa was already 
regretting his unkindness, but he was too proud to take 
back his words. Yes, Tazzy would have to feed the 
lions. He sighed mournfully; but just then Panapee 
came whirling through the tent flap, a large book un¬ 
der his arm. 

“This book,” puffed Panapee proudly—but he got 
no further. 

“Give it to me,” commanded Mustafa, snatching the 
volume from Panapee. Even Tazzywaller edged 
nearer, and the sleepy head of Mixtuppa was again 
thrust through the curtain. 

“Famous Lions of Oz,” read Mustafa, and opened 
the dusty volume with trembling fingers. But he got 
no further than the second page, for there was a pic¬ 
ture of the most splendid lion he had ever seen in his 
whole Mudger existence, and underneath, in blue let¬ 
ters, stood the words “This is the famous Cowardly 
24 



Chapter One 


Lion of Oz, Kang of all forest creatures.” 

“Cowardly Lion?” gasped Mustafa. “How singu¬ 
lar! How rare! Why, he doesn’t look cowardly at all.” 

“If your Highness will but read,” exulted Panapee, 
pointing to the opposite page. Breathlessly Mustafa 
began. 

“The Cowardly Lion is one of the most unusual and 
celebrated lions in Oz. For many years he ruled over 
the forest kingdoms, but in the reign of the famous 
Wizard of Oz the Cowardly Lion was discovered by 
a little Kansas girl named Dorothy. He became so at¬ 
tached to Dorothy that he accompanied her on her 
journey to the Emerald City, saving her life many 
times on the way, and proving so brave, in spite of his 
cowardice, that he won the love and admiration of all 
Oz. Since then he has spent most of his time in the 
capital city, sharing in all the adventures of court 
celebrities, and of Dorothy, who has been made a Royal 
Princess. He has, by his many brave deeds, endeared 
himself to the whole populace and—” 

“Panny!” burst out Mustafa, without waiting to 
read any more, “ Panny, that is the lion I want, the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion of Oz!” 

“That is the lion he wants!” repeated Mixtuppa, nod¬ 
ding her head approvingly. 

25 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


“And of course he shall have it,” sniffed Tazzywal- 
ler, relieved to think he was no longer chamberlain. 
“Panapee, produce this Cowardly Lion. At once!” 

“It will take a little time,” began the new chamber- 
lain of Mudge nervously. “An expedition must be fit¬ 
ted out and—” 

“How about the warning in the book of Mudge?” 
asked Tazzywaller sarcastically. “Do you suppose 
anyone is going to risk his head just for the honor of 
catching this Cowardly Lion?” 

“It would be a great honor,” said Panapee, looking 
slyly at his rival, “a very great honor. I was about to 
suggest that you, dear Tazzywaller, undertake the 
journey. Even though you were to lose your head, you 
could still feed the lions of Mudge.” 

“Me!” screamed Tazzywaller, almost turning a som¬ 
ersault. “Oh, no, my brave Panapee, it would be too 
great an honor for me. I am only the lion feeder. I 
must feed them at once! ” Tazzywaller started on a run 
for the door, but Mustafa called him back. 

“You used to give me good advice, Tazzywaller,” 
sighed the ruler of Mudge. “Who do you think 
could catch this Cowardly Lion of Oz?” 

“Why not Panapee?” asked the former chamberlain 
wickedly. “He is a strong, brave man.” 

26 



Chapter One 


“Yes, but what would your Highness do without an 
adviser 1 ?” quavered Panapee in a tremulous tone. 

“He could take my advice,” drawled Mixtuppa, “and 
to begin with I’d—” 

What Mixtuppa was about to advise will never be 



known, for right here fifteen Mudgers burst into the 
royal tent. 

“Lion!” screamed the first. “Lion! Lion! lion!” 
screamed all the others, whirling their scimitars until 
the confusion was terrible. 

“Let me catch him!” cried Tazzywaller, but Panapee 
27 





The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

clutched at his sleeve. 

“No, let me!” squealed Panapee, brushing past him. 
“I am chief chamberlain of Mudge!” 

“Perhaps it is the Cowardly Lion,” puffed Mustafa, 
springing rapturously from his throne, and next min¬ 
ute they had all rolled, run or tumbled out of the tent, 
screaming in a way to curdle the blood of twenty lions. 
Under the largest palm tree in the sandy waste Mus¬ 
tafa was pleased to call his garden stood a very lumpy 
and peculiar-looking lion! 



28 




CHAPTER 2 

Magic at the Circus 

I T was raining outside, it was hot and stuffy inside 
and it was the last day of the circus in Stumptown. 
All over the big tent people moved about restlessly on 
the hard seats, and grumbled when sudden splashes of 
rain came pelting through the tent top. Mothers were 
thinking anxiously of the wet journey home, young 
ladies were worrying about their spring bonnets, and 
29 


The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


even the boys and girls were only applauding half ¬ 
heartedly as old Billy, the elephant, rang dinner bells 
in one ring and the Grlicko sisters swung dizzily from 
trapezes in the other. The chief clown ran distractedly 
around both rings. He stood on his head, he walked 
on his hands, he leaped over the elephant, he pretended 
he was a balky donkey. But no one laughed. They 
didn’t even smile at his oldest jokes. 

“This is too terrible,” gulped the clown, stepping be¬ 
hind a pillar. “Not one real laugh the whole after¬ 
noon! What’s the matter with these folks anyway?” 
He wiped the perspiration from his forehead, hastily 
powdered his nose and dashed out again. 

It was beginning to thunder now, and the animals 
in the outside tent set up a dreadful roaring. Prom 
looking bored, the people began to look frightened. 
Something must be done. The worried clown rushed 
into the center ring and sprang to the back of the big 
elephant. 

“Ladies and gentlemen!” shouted the clown, wav¬ 
ing his arms to attract attention. “Ladies and gen¬ 
tlemen, I am about to perform one of the most aston¬ 
ishing and amazing feats ever executed—a trick that 
has astounded the crowned heads of Europe, Asia and 
Africa. Ladies and gentlemen—” 

30 



Chapter Two 


People on the back rows, who were already pushing 
their way toward the exits, paused. A little girl in 
the twenty-five-cent seats cheered faintly. Thus en¬ 
couraged, the clown turned a really marvelous som¬ 
ersault and landed on the tip of the elephant’s trunk. 

“Will some small boy kindly step forward,” begged 
the clown, glancing hurriedly along the front rows. 
“For this trick I need a small, active boy. Ah, there 
he is!” 

Urging the elephant to the very edge of the ring, 
the clown snatched a small, red-headed boy from a 
group of solemn-eyed orphans, who had been brought 
to the circus for a special treat. The crowd gasped 
with surprise, and the orphan tried to wriggle out of 
his coat, but the down held on firmly. 

“One toss of this boy into the air, and he will dis¬ 
appear; a toss of my cap and he will reappear. Watch!” 
cried the clown, putting his fingers to his lips. 

“What are you trying to dof” demanded the ring¬ 
master in a hoarse whisper. “You can’t really make 
him disappear, you know.” 

The clown realized this, but he was going to make 
that crowd laugh—or disappear himself. With a shrill 
whistle that made even the old elephant prick up his 
ears, he tossed the orphan to his shoulder and reeled 
31 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

off the first ridiculous rhyme that popped into his head. 
And this was it: 

“ Udge! Budge! 

Go to Mudge! 

Udger budger, 

You’re a Mudger! ” 

A roar of delight went up from the crowd, and a roar 
of terror from the ringmaster, for the orphan had dis¬ 
appeared—disappeared as completely as a punctured 
balloon! 

“Help!” screamed the clown, dancing frantically up 
and down on the elephant’s head. The audience was 
enchanted and rocking to and fro with merriment. 

“That’s the best trick I’ve ever seen,” gurgled a fat 
.nan, mopping his face. “Look at him pretending to 
be frightened. Come on now, bring him back, you!” 

The clown cried out another verse: 

“ Udge! Budge! 

Go to Mudge! 

Udger budger, 

I’m a Mudger! ” 

There was a tearing rip and a clap of thunder. The 
crowd stared, rubbed its eyes and stared again. No 
clown, no orphan! Why, this was tremendous! They 
32 













































































Chapter Two 


stamped with glee and shouted their approval. But 
the ringmaster fell breathlessly against a post, and the 
owner of the circus, with popping eyes, started on a 
run for the dressing tent. Not a bit too soon, either, 
for in a few seconds the crowd stopped laughing as sud¬ 
denly as it had begun. Umbrellas were brandished 
furiously, and people shouted at the ringmaster to pro¬ 
duce the orphan at once. The ringmaster was shak¬ 
ing in his shiny shoes, but he resolved to save himself 
if he could. Raising his whip for silence, he announced 
in his most impressive voice that the best part of the 
trick was to come—that the clown and orphan were at 
that minute standing at the circus gate to wave good¬ 
bye to the company, one of the most distinguished and 
delightful companies it had ever been their pleasure to 
entertain. He clicked his heels together, made a deep 
bow and the crowd, convinced that he was speaking 
the truth, began to stream out of the big tent. 

Without waiting another second, the ringmaster 
grasped old Billy by the ear and ran him toward the 
animal tent. In five minutes the whole circus force 
was dashing about in the pelting rain, dragging out 
cages, prodding the elephants, tugging at the big 
horses, pulling down the tents. 

“ Something terrible has happened; we’ve got to move 
33 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

out of here,” chattered the owner of the show, rushing 
from group to group. By the time the indignant old 
gentleman who had brought the orphans to the circus 
had been to the gate and back, the first of the heavy 
circus wagons was already rattling over the hill. The 



few workmen, hastening the last bits of loading, shook 
their heads dully when he demanded the orphan and, 
after threatening and stamping in vain, the distracted 
old gentleman ran off to fetch the police, with the 
thirty-nine other orphans splashing delightedly behind 
him. 


34 






Chapter Two 

Police! What could police do against magic? 
How did the clown know that the rhyme that had 
popped into his head was an old Oz formula? It had 
carried off the orphan like a skyrocket, and when the 
clown had frantically repeated the magic words, he too 
had been snatched into the air, hurled through the tent 
top, and flung down beside the frightened little boy in 
the strangest land he had ever seen. Fortunately they 
had fallen on a soft dune of sand, and around them for 
miles and miles stretched a flat and silvery desert. 



35 

















CHAPTER 3 

At the Court of Mudge 

N EITHER the clown nor the boy spoke for several 
minutes. To tell the truth, they were breathless. 
Then the clown sat up and looked doubtfully at the or¬ 
phan. 

“Well, here we are,” he said, winking more from 
force of habit than because he felt particularly jolly. 
“Yes, sir!” gulped the orphan, swallowing hard. 

36 



Chapter Three 


“Now don’t call me sir,” begged the clown, making 
conversation to gain time. “Don’t call me sir because 
I worked in a circus. My name is Notta—Notta Bit 
More. I was the last of twelve children, and my mother 
and father could not agree on a name for me. Every 
time my mother said, ‘ Call him Augustus Elmer More,’ 
my father said, ‘not a bit of it.’ After while, being a 
clown himself and a joker by trade, he began calling 
me ‘Notta Bit More’ and Notta I’ve been ever since.” 
The clown winked again. “ Call me Notta, won’t you ? ” 

“Yes, sir,” replied the orphan, swallowing again and 
trying not to cry. Seeing this, Notta turned a double 
somersault and stood on his head. 

“And what is your name?” he asked, waving his legs 
cheerfully. 

“Bobbie Downs,” sniffed the orphan, with another 
swallow. 

“How did you get it?” The clown dropped down 
beside the little boy. 

“I think it came with me, sir,” said Bobbie faintly. 

“Well, if you don’t mind, we’ll change it to Bob TJp 
—for that’s what we’ve done—and Bob IJp sounds 
more lively than Bobbie Downs, don’t you think?” 

While Notta was talking he was glancing anxiously 
around him. “Bob,” he said finally, “I think we’ve 
37 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


fallen in with another circus. See, there are the tents, 
and I hear lions roaring.” 

“So do I,” said Bobbie beginning to look more inter¬ 
ested than frightened. 

“Yes, it’s either a circus or a sea shore without any 
sea, continued the clown, running his fingers through 
the sand. “But anyway, here I am and here you are, 
and so long as you are here we’ll bob up together. Let’s 
go on to the main tent and see the show.” 

Bobbie stood up and shook the water from his cap. 
They were both dripping wet from the storm they had 
passed through, but the sun and wind of this queer des¬ 
ert country soon dried them off and, conversing almost 
cheerfully, they trudged through the deep sand toward 
a large blue, striped tent. 

“ I’ve done a heap of traveling in my time,” confided 
Notta, “but never in just this way. I’ve run into some 
strange places and walked into others; but this is the 
first time I ever talked myself into a country. There 
we were in a circus, quiet and natural like, then that 
rhyme pops into my head. I say it and off we go like 
a couple of skyrockets. We were just talked into this 
country, Bob, my boy, and a mighty tricky business I 
call it. But never mind, we’ll just follow the rules any¬ 
way.” 



Chapter Three 


“What rules?” asked Bob, looking curiously at some 
tall palm trees, waving in the distance. He had never 
supposed palm trees existed outside of geography 
books. 

“Why,” explained Notta, “just four simple little 
rules I made up to use in case of danger or trouble. 
First,” he pulled out his little finger, “first I disguise 
myself. If that fails, I’m extree—mly polite. If po¬ 
liteness doesn’t do, I tell a joke. If the joke fails, I 
shout something no one can understand and rim like 
sixty. So don’t you worry, Bob; stick to me and run 
when I run and everything will turn out right. Do 
you know what makes me so fat?” 

Bob shook his head. 

“Disguises!” whispered Notta triumphantly. “I use 
them for padding. Mighty handy when I tumble about. 
Yes, sir, in here.” Notta fondly patted his bulging suit. 
“In here I have six marvelous disguises ready to put 
on at a moment’s notice, and in here,” Notta tapped his 
powdery forehead, “in here, I’ve sixty different jokes, 
and lots of things I don’t understand myself, so you see 
we are prepared for everything.” 

“Yes, sir,” said Bobbie solemnly, for he was a veij 
solemn little boy. Living in an orphan asylum had 
made him that way and, as for adventures, he had never 
39 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

had an adventure in his life. There were lessons and 
meals and punishments, and once in a while a fight 
among the older boys, but no one in that big, busy 
home had time to talk to Bobbie Downs, nor answer his 
questions. So Bobbie had grown quieter and more 
solemn each year of the seven he had spent in the dull 
gray asylum. 

Notta looked at the little boy curiously as he trudged 
along beside him. The kindly clown decided that he 
was going to like Bob Up, and right there he decided 
that Bob Up was going to have a little fun. “I’ll bet 
he’s never laughed out loud in his whole life,” thought 
the clown to himself, and began running over in his 
head the funniest jokes that he knew. He had just de¬ 
termined on the one about the pig and the pound of 
bacon, when an ear splitting screech knocked all 
thought of joking out of his mind. A huge figure, with 
bristling blue whiskers, had stepped out from behind 
a palm tree, taken one look at the two strangers and 
then disappeared in the direction of the blue tent, 
shouting at the top of his lungs. 

“Is it Blue Beard?” quavered Bob, clutching Notta. 

“Bob,” said the clown, swallowing hard, “I don’t 
know, but we’ll just try rule one.” Fumbling in the 
bosom of his suit he dragged out a brown bundle, and 
40 



Chapter Three 

before the little boy could wink had stepped into it and 
dropped on all fours. 

“I’m a lion,” panted Notta, “and if I roar loudly 
enough I may frighten them off. Stick close to me, 
Bob, and try to remember the rules. If I run, you run 
—understand?” 

“Yes, sir!” gasped Bob, his eyes as round as cookies, 
for Notta’s disguise was so real that he was almost 
afraid himself. Scarcely had Notta cleared his throat 
for a growl than a white robed company burst out of 
the blue tent, and descended upon them in a whirl of 
sand and scimitars. Bob was as brave as any boy, but 
his retired life in an orphan asylum had not prepared 
him for anything like this. Tears started to his eyes. 
With a scream of fright, he grasped Notta’s woolly 
mane. 

“You’d better stop crying and get ready to run,” 
whispered the clown nervously and finished his sen¬ 
tence with such a roar that Bob jumped quite three 
feet. But the wild white company kept right on com¬ 
ing and, before Notta could get another growl going, 
a net was thrown over his head, a dozen of the blue 
whiskered villains were upon him and next instant he 
was rolling over and over in the sandy road. 

Bob had shut his eyes tight, expecting to be snatched 
41 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

himself, but when nothing happened he opened them 
and saw with a little gasp that they were hustling 
Notta, with pricks and prods, towards the billowing 
blue tent. This was Bob’s first adventure and he might 
have run away, but something inside of him, that he 
hadn’t known about, kept him there. Bight in that 
moment, and all of a sudden, Bob discovered that he 
was fonder of this clown whom he had known only a 
few moments than of anyone he had ever known before. 
He felt that if something terrible was going to happen 
to Notta it might as well happen to him too. 

“Bob Up,” the clown had called him. Well, bob up 
he would. With trembling legs, he ran after the shout¬ 
ing company, and managed to squeeze into the royal 
tent unnoticed, behind the broad back of Tazzywaller. 
For as you have all guessed long before now, it was to 
Mudge that Notta had transported himself and the 
little boy. 

Notta’s disguise, though somewhat askew, still held 
together and he was growling terribly to keep up his 
courage, at the same time looking anxiously around 
for Bob. His lion head had been knocked sideways, so 
that he could only see out of one eye, but what he man¬ 
aged to see with one eye was enough to make him quake 
with terror. The Mudgers were shouting and hopping 
42 



Chapter Three 

about in front of a large blue throne, pointing at him 
with their flashing scimitars. Then a tall, particularly 
thin fellow seized him by the ear. It was Panapee. 

“Lion,” cried Panapee haughtily, “this is your new 
master, Mustafa of Mudge. Your Highness, here is 



the lion you were just wishing for!” 


“An odd looking beast,” puffed the ruler of Mudge, 
tugging at his mustache. 

“An awful looking creature I call it,” sniffed Tazzy- 
waller, who was jealous to think another lion really 
had been captured after he said there were no more. 

43 










The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


“Maybe it’s the Cowardly Lion,” mused Mustafa, 
“I see that his knees are trembling. Are you the Cow¬ 
ardly lion?” he demanded, pointing his scimitar at 
poor Notta. The clown roared dismally, to prove he 
was no coward. How was he to know that in the land 
of Oz all animals can and are expected to talk? Why, 
he did not even know he was in Oz, and in the hands 
of the Mudgers. 

“He refuses to answer,” said Mustafa gloomily. 
“Well, a dumb lion is better than no lion at all. Take 
him away, Panny, and lock him up with the other lions. 
I hope he’s a good fighter. Let me see, that makes ten 
thousand for you to feed, Tazzywaller, if the others 
don’t chew this one up.” 

He rubbed his hands joyfully together. “I’ll come 
out later on and see how they take to him. But I am 
not going to be satisfied until I have the Cowardly Lion, 
Panny. This lion is a cowardly lion but not the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion. Take him away!” 

Mustafa picked up the lion book and, waving Notta 
out of the tent, fell to looking at the picture of the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion of Oz. 

All during this conversation Notta’s hair had been 
prickling under his mane. Ten thousand lions! Siz¬ 
zling sawdust! Better face these wild-looking men 
44 



Chapter Threv 


than that. Rule one had failed, it was time to try rule 
two. 

“ Come on,” growled the Mudger at his head and gave 
the rope around his neck a sharp tug. But before the 
clown had a chance to move or speak, there was a shrill 
scream, and out rushed Bob Up, almost upsetting old 
Tazzywaller. He flung both arms around the trembling 
lion. 

“You shan’t take him away,” cried the little bo 
stormily. “It isn’t a lion. It’s Notta!” 

“Notta?” roared Mustafa, lurching forward anc 
looking at Bobbie with astonishment. 

“Not a lion,” cried the clown, rising on his hind legs 
and hastily removing his lion head. 



45 





CHAPTER 4 

Mustafa’s Mandate 

T HERE was a moment of absolute silence following 
Notta’s disclosure. With his lion body and clown 
head he presented an amazing and ridiculous appear¬ 
ance. Nothing like this had ever been seen in Mudge, 
and the Mudgers simply gaped with astonishment. 

“ Steady now, Bob,” whispered the clown, putting his 
lion paw around the little boy. “All we have to do is 
46 


Chapter Pout 


to be polite—rule two, you know!” 

Mustafa was the first to recover. 

“Not a lion!” cried the Monarch of Mudge hoarsely. 
“Why, how dare you disappoint me like this? Did 
you hear that, Tazzywaller, Panny, Mixtuppa—all of 
you? He says he’s not a lion.” A sob of rage choked 
Mustafa’s voice. 

“I apologize for not being a lion,” said Notta, in a 
polite, slightly shaky voice. “Ten thousand pardons!” 

“Ten thousand puddings!” screamed Mustafa furi¬ 
ously. 

“Puddings by all means, if your Highness prefers 
them,” corrected Notta hastily. 

“I told you there were no more lions in Mudge,” 
wheezed Tazzy waller with a triumphant glance at Pan- 
apee. “ I knew it wasn’t a lion all along.” 

“Well, what is it then?” asked Mustafa angrily. 
“The little fellow’s a boy of some kind, but this other?” 
He waved scornfully at the poor clown. 

“A wizard, your Highness!” hissed Panapee. “A 
wizard, that’s what he is.” 

“Now don’t call me names,” begged Notta, extend¬ 
ing the front paws of his disguise. “I’m Notta.” 

“Not a wizard, I suppose,” said Tazzywaller scorn¬ 
fully. 


47 




The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


“Why don’t you ask Mm how he got here?” sighed 
.Mixtuppa, reasonably enough. Notta stared curiously 
at the large head of Mixtuppa, wagging through the 
blue curtain. Perhaps here was someone who would 
understand politeness. 

“Madam, your Highness, gracious and lovely lady,” 
began the clown with a deep bow, “ we fell into tMs 
charming country through no fault of our own.” 

“Well, it wasn’t our fault; we have no faults here,” 
snapped Mustafa ungraciously. 

“How did you get past the lion enclosure?” de¬ 
manded Panapee. “How do you explain tMs being a 
lion one minute and a creature of another sort the 
next?” 

“Well, there is sometMng very queer about it,” ad¬ 
mitted Notta, rubbing Ms forehead in a puzzled way. 
“ One minute Bob and I were in a circus doing a bit of 
a trick and—” 

“ I knew it was a trick,” exclaimed Panapee trium¬ 
phantly. “He admits it!” 

“Silence!” cried Mustafa, who was beginmng to en¬ 
joy the recital. “You were in a circus? Tazzywaller, 
what is a circus?” 

“It’s a show,” explained Notta hastily, for he could 
tell by the puzzled faces of the Mudgers that they had 
48 




















A LITTLE BENT FAIRYMAN HELD HIS LANTERN CLOSE 

Chapter 5 


Xotta’s face 


































Chapter Four 


never heard of such a thing. “And we were in it. I 
put Bob on my shoulder and shouted a silly rhyme, and 
in a flash he is gone. I shout it again and I’m gone 
too!” 

“Gone where?” asked Mustafa, rubbing his cbm. 

“To here,” replied Notta, gazing about him uneas¬ 
ily. “Funny how a little verse could carry us so far. 
He recited: 


“ Udgel Budge! 

Go to Mudge! 

Udger budger, 

I’m a Mudger! ” 

No sooner had he done so than Mustafa sprang into 
the air and all the Mudgers began roaring with fright 
and fury. 

“He’s discovered the secret of Mudge,” shrilled Mus¬ 
tafa, pulling out a handful of his whiskers. “How dare 
you use our own privately patented, particular, magic 
transformation formula? Now you’ll be wishing all 
sorts of people into the country!” 

“He’s a wizard!” screamed Panapee. “I told you 
he was a wizard! Twist his tail; off with his head; 
throw him to the lions!” 

“Wait, let me explain,” pleaded the clown, but his 
49 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


voice was drowned in the angry hubbub. Then all at 
once a gong at the back of the tent rang thunderously. 
Mustafa, who had already seized the tail of Notta’s dis¬ 
guise, paused. So did the others. On a platform at 
the other end of the tent stood Tazzywaller, thumping 
the gong with all his might. The noise was so terrible 
that even Notta and Bob, frightened though they were, 
had to cover their ears. Not until Mustafa ran to the 
little platform and commanded Tazzywaller to stop, 
did the awful clangor cease. 

“What do you mean by this impertinence?” panted 
Mustafa, seizing Tazzy’s arm. 

“It was the only way I could get your attention,” 
said Tazzywaller calmly. “I have something impor¬ 
tant to say. About lions,” he finished meaningly. 

“Well, what is it?” puffed Mustafa eagerly. “Be 
quiet!” he called to the Mudgers who were again clos¬ 
ing in on Notta and Bob. 

“That person,” cried Tazzywaller, with a wave to¬ 
ward Notta, “is undoubtedly a wizard. Instead of 
snatching off his head, which will be of no use to us, 
even as an ornament, why not compel him to serve us? 
He is a wizard, or he would not be in Mudge. Well then, 
let him go to the Emerald City and bring back the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion!” 


50 



Chapter Four 


Mustafa stared at his former chamberlain in amazed 
admiration, then flinging both arms about his neck, 
hugged him almost to suffocation. Next instant he had 
clapped his hands and issued a dozen orders to as many 
little servitors. At the first the shouting Mudgers re¬ 
tired backward from the tent, at the second Panapee 
also retired, leaving Bob and Notta alone with Tazzy 
and their Majesties. Outside, the marching and coun¬ 
termarching of the blue guard could be heard as they 
surrounded the royal tent. 

“The rules aren’t working at all well, Bob,” breathed 
Notta anxiously. Bob said nothing. He just clutched 
the clown’s hand a little tighter and stared at Mustafa 
in open-eyed wonder. 

“Now then,” chuckled the monarch of Mudge, “now 
then, my handsome wizard, what do you call yourself?” 

“Notta,” began the clown, resolved to be polite as 
long as possible, “Notta Bit More.” 

“Notta!” coughed Mustafa, opening his eyes wide. 
“That doesn’t sound like a name. It sounds like—” 

“A joke,” put in the clown, with one of his broad 
smiles, “a little joke on me. You see it is meant to be 
funny.” 

“Well, it doesn’t amuse me at all.” Mustafa stared 
solemnly into the clown’s face. “Why are you so white? 

51 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

And why is his hair,”—Mustafa jerked his thumb at 
Bob—“so red?” 

“For the same reason that your Majesty’s whiskers 
are blue,” replied Notta promptly. Mustafa did not 
quite like this answer. 



“ Your business ? ” he inquired next. “ I suppose you 
deny being a wizard?” 

“Oh, absolutely!” said Notta. “But my business, if 
your Majesty insists, is fun. I make people laugh and 
thus prolong their lives.” 

“A funny business,” sniffed Mustafa, with a puzzled 
52 



Chapter Four 


look at Tazzy waller. “Well, you will have to make 
me laugh to prolong your life, and the only thing that 
makes me laugh is lions!” 

“Lions!” Notta wrinkled up his forehead. “I’m 
afraid lions are not in my line at all. You see I didn’t 
work in that part of the show.” 

“You pretended to be a lion,” interrupted Mustafa 
sternly, “and you have proved yourself a wizard. So 
unless you can capture the Cowardly Lion of Oz and 
bring him back to Mudge, you shall be thrown into the 
lion reservation, whereby nine thousand nine hundred 
and ninety-nine lions will tear you to bits. Do you 
agree?” 

“Tear me to bits!” gulped the clown. “My father 
often said I’d go to the dogs, but he never dreamed I’d 
be thrown to the lions. Say, is this Cowardly Lion 
very fierce?” 

Instead of answering, Mustafa handed him Pana- 
pee’s lion book, saying, “You may read that while I 
make preparations for your journey.” 

Smiling almost pleasantly, the Monarch of Mudge 
linked his arm through Tazzywaller’s and disappeared 
behind the blue curtain at the back of the tent. Mix- 
tuppa also drew in her head and Bob Up and Notta 
were left alone. 


53 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

“Isn’t it time to run?” asked the little boy anxiously. 
He had never in his whole life heard so much about 
lions. But Notta put his fingers to his lips and shook 
his head. 

“No use,” whispered the clown. “The tent’s sur¬ 



rounded. We must pretend, my boy—pretend we are 
going to hunt this Cowardly Lion. Then, once out of 
the country, we’ll take the first train home.” 

He sat down on a huge cushion and began turning the 
pages of the lion book, Bob Up looking curiously over 
his shoulder. They were both quite interested in a de- 
54 





Chapter Four 


scription of the Cowardly Lion and Princess Dorothy, 
when Mustafa came whirling back. He was followed 
by a small Mudger servant, with three white packets 
upon his head. 

“Here,” said Mustafa, with a wave at the packets, 
“are provisions for three days. Travel straight north 
until you reach a yellow brick road and follow that road 
till you come to the Emerald City. There you will find 
the Cowardly Lion.” 

“But, see here,” began Notta, who had been doing 
some quick thinking, “why does not your Majesty 
transport this lion to Mudge by the magic verse?” 

“For a wizard,” sniffed Mustafa, “you are aston¬ 
ishingly stupid. That verse only transports people, 
and one must touch the person.” 

“Well then, why not send some of your valiant tribes¬ 
men to capture him? I, I am a stranger here and have 
never captured a lion in my life.” 

“Because it is written in the book of Mudge that any 
Mudger leaving his country will lose his head,” droned 
Mixtuppa, thrusting her turban through the curtain. 
“And if you take my advice you will go at once. All 
this arguing keeps me awake, and when I’m awake I 
lose my temper, and when I lose my temper other folks 
lose their heads, and when that—” 

55 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


“I’ll go,” sighed Notta, seeing that no sense at all was 
to be had from this ridiculous pair. He stepped out of 
his lion disguise and, rolling it up into a small bundle, 
thrust it into his trouser leg. Next he slung the three 
packets around his neck and, taking Bob’s hand, de¬ 
clared himself ready to go. 

Rubbing his hands gleefully, Mustafa led them out 
of the royal tent, through a double line of the Mudger 
Guard, to the great iron enclosure that surrounded his 
kingdom. The lions were snarling and quarreling 
among themselves, but as soon as Mustafa came in sight 
they began calling him names and screaming for their 
dinner. 

“Be quiet, my little pets,” chuckled the Monarch of 
Mudge good-naturedly. “This is not dinner, only a 
silly wizard.” 

“Give us the boy, then,” roared the largest of the 
lions, licking his chops. 

“ Give us the boy,” roared all the other lions immedi¬ 
ately. Notta and Bob Up stared at Mustafa’s pets in 
horror and disbelief, for neither had in their lives ever 
heard a lion talk before. Bob, especially, was terribly 
dismayed by the personal nature of their conversation. 
But, while they were still trembling, two heavy doors 
were slipped through the bars, about five feet apart, 
56 



Chapter Four 


making a safe and narrow passageway through the en¬ 
closure. The gates on the inside and outside of the en¬ 
closure were unlocked and Mustafa waved imperiously 
for them to go. This Notta and Bob lost no time in 
doing. 

“Remember,” called Mustafa warningly, as they 
scurried through, “if you run away instead of hunting 



for the Cowardly Lion, I shall know of it. When a 
messenger disobeys me, my magic ring turns black. If 
it turns black I shall know you are deceiving me, and 
in that case”—Mustafa held up his thumb so that 
Notta could see his ring—“in that case I shall take it 
off, and if I take it off you will both turn as blue as my 
whiskers and find yourselves unable to move until you 
57 




The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


decide to do as I have commanded. Good-bye, my chalk¬ 
faced wizard, a pleasant journey and a swift return!” 

Notta was too shocked and astounded to answer. 
Grasping Bob Up more firmly than before, he rushed 
out the iron gate and off through a field of blue daisies, 
until the dreadful roaring of the lions of Mudge could 
no longer be heard. 

“And this,” puffed the clown at last, sinking down 
under a great tree, “this is what comes of trying to be 
funny. Never try to be funny, my boy.” 

“No, sir,” answered Bob, staring anxiously over his 
shoulder to see whether any of Mustafa’s lions had fol¬ 
lowed them. 



58 




CHAPTER 5 

Two Cowardly Lion Hunters 

F OR a time Notta and Bob Up sat quietly under the 
tree, each busy with his own thoughts. The clown 
was repeating to himself Mustafa’s warning, and try¬ 
ing to recall some mention of such a country as Mudge 
in the geographies he had studied. The little boy was 
thinking that at this time yesterday he was calmly eat¬ 
ing oatmeal and apple sauce, with nothing more excit- 
59 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


ing ahead than lessons and bed. Perhaps he was asleep, 
and dreaming about lions and blue whiskered Mudgers. 
He touched Notta experimentally, to see if he would 
disappear or turn suddenly to the harsh-voiced matron 
of the orphan asylum. But the clown only turned a 
neat somersault, walked a few paces on his hands and 
sat down again. 

“Bob,” asked the clown, tilting his cap forward so 
he could scratch his ear, “do I look like a lion hunter?” 

Bob Up shook his head slowly and almost laughed. 
Something inside tickled tremendously, but he remem¬ 
bered, just in time, that laughing was against the rules 
of the orphan home, so he swallowed instead. 

“We’re both lion hunters,” observed the clown re¬ 
flectively, “and that being the case we had better start 
hunting at once, for it would never do for the lions to 
find us first. It’s like a game of hide-and-seek, Bob. So 
long as we are hunting him, this Cowardly Lion is it. 
But if we stop hunting, then we’re it. In a game of 
hide-and-seek with a lion, it’s your hide or his. Being 
it, means being et, hide-and-seek and all!” 

Notta glanced slyly at Bob out of the comer of his 
eye to see Whether he were going to smile. Bob was 
looking uncertainly at the forest, stretching so darkly 
ahead, and thinking he would just as soon not play this 
60 



Chapter Five 

game of hide-and-seek at all. jitit as Notta had already 
started toward the forest, there was nothing for hint 
to do but follow. The short, spring afternoon was 
drawing to a close and a round silver moon showed 
faintly over the tree tops. 

“Things might be a lot better, and again they might 
be a lot worse,” mused Notta, as they walked along un¬ 
der the trees. “Why, if you were in the home, you 
would probably be eating corn meal mush for supper 
and—” 

“What are we going to have for supper, Notta?” 
asked Bob, looking up at the clown inquiringly. 

“Well, hurrah!” shouted the clown, turning a rapid 
cartwheel. “You’re getting on, my lad; called me Notta 
as natural as a brother. As to supper, that depends on 
Mustafa. Let’s see what the old rascal has given us.” 

On a flat stump that happened to be near, Notta 
opened one of the packets and set out a regular feast. 
There were dozens of small meat sandwiches, there 
were ripe figs, a jar of honey, and a little jug full of 
blue tea, which they found most refreshing. After they 
had feasted, Notta carefully packed up the rest and, 
feeling more cheerful, the two cowardly lion hunters 
stepped along through the forest. 

“I can’t make out where we are, at all,” said the 
61 




The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

clown presently, “ but Ih a country where lions talk, 
and verses fling one about, it’s safer to obey orders, 
don’t you think so, Bob Up, my boy? So long as we 
travel towards this Emerald City we are obeying or¬ 
ders and are safe from Mustafa’s ring. When we get 
there is time enough to worry about the Cowardly Lion. 
Now take an Emerald City, Bob; did you ever hear of 
such a place ? Why, it’s as strange as blue whiskers and 
cowardly lions. Everything’s strange. In fact, I think 
we’ve fallen into one of these fairy tales. I always had 
a kind of notion they were true!” 

“But the Cowardly Lion liked Dorothy,” burst out 
Bob quite unexpectedly, “so maybe he will like us.” 
He had been turning slowly over in his mind the few 
facts he had managed to read in the lion book. 

“Why, bless my heart!” cried the clown, looking 
down at Bob admiringly, “so he did, and furthermore, 
didn’t that book say Dorothy was from Kansas?” 

Bob Up nodded solemnly. 

“Well, then everything’s clear as candy!” Notta 
turned a somersault from pure relief. “We’ll go straight 
to this Emerald City and tell our troubles to Dorothy, 
and when she learns that we are from the United States, 
surely she will help us to get back, and if we could take 
a couple of talking lions along our fortune would be 
62 



Chapter Five 


made. Why, even Barnum and Bailey never showed a 
talking lion.” 

Notta was so enthusiastic by this time that he fairly 
bounced along. But Bob was growing sleepy. He 
found it harder and harder to keep pace with Notta’s 
long legs, and finally fell sprawling over the roots of 
a large tree. Notta had him up in a minute. 

“Lights out?” chuckled the clown, touching Bob’s 
eyelids gently. “Well, then, let’s go to bed. It’s too 
dark to go on, anyway.” 

“I don’t see any beds,” sighed Bob, leaning wearily 
against the clown’s knee. 

“Neither do I,” admitted the clown, “but we’ll just 
pretend we’re flowers, and sleep on the ground.” In a 
minute the clown had raked a pile of leaves together 
under the tree and placed Bob carefully in the center. 

“Are there any bears in this wood?” asked Bob, look¬ 
ing around doubtfully. It was quite dark now, and the 
moonlight sifting through the leaves made queer shapes 
out of all the shadows. 

“This isn’t a bear forest,” said Notta positively. “I 
think it’s a fairy forest, Bob, and that reminds me of a 
song I used to know.” 

Reaching over, Notta pulled the little boy into his big, 
comfortable lap, and with a twinkle in his eyes he put 
63 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

his back against the tree and began to sing: 

“Oh the moon’s a balloon 
On a silvery string, 

And the Sandman holds on to it tight! 

’Tis a ticklish task — 

What would happen, I ask, 

If he let it fly off some fine night 1 ? 

“ But he knows that there are 
Seven points to a star, 

That might puncture the moon; and a steeple 
Would finish it quite! 

How we’d miss it at night, 

For the moon means so much to some people! ” 

There was another verse to the song, and Bob, lean¬ 
ing drowsily against Notta’s chest, thought he had 
never heard anything so perfectly beautiful. He had 
never sat on a real lap before, nor had a song sung es¬ 
pecially for him. So the little boy snuggled down con¬ 
tentedly, his eyes straying to the moon, just visible 
above the tree tops. Why, there was a string on it, a 
bright silver string, and a little, old man was holding 
to the end, just as Notta had sung! 

“Fast asleep,” muttered the clown, holding Bob a 
bit tighter. And so he was fast asleep and dreaming 
of the sandman’s balloon. Notta meant to keep awake, 
64 



Chapter Five 

for he was not so sure there were no bears in this dark 
forest, but the day’s experiences had so tired him that, 
in a short time, he was sound asleep himself. 

No sooner had Notta’s eyes closed, than a little, bent 
fairyman came tip-toeing from behind the tree. H« 
held his lantern close to Notta’s face. 

“Such a beautiful voice,” sighed the little fellow to 
himself. “ It would be a shame to have it swallowed up 
by one of the forest creatures. And this must be a 
child.” He held his lantern close to Bob’s red head. 
He watched them for a while in silence, then pulling 
his silvery beard thoughtfully, set the little red lan¬ 
tern beside them and pattered off into the darkness. 

Nof-ia had been right. It was a fairy forest. Every 
forest in the wonderful land of Oz is a fairy forest, in¬ 
habited by strange creatures and peoples. But the 
clown’s song had so pleased the old fairyman that he 
determined to protect the two strangers from all harm, 
and though many bears and other beasts came 
snuffling past, they dared not approach, for the red lan¬ 
tern told them plainly it was “ Claws off.” So grumbling 
and growling, they went searching further for their 
dinners. 

The little lantern disappeared with the first ray of 
sunshine and, quite unconscious of the dangers they 
65 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 




had slept through, Notta and Bob awoke almost at the 
same minute. 

“Well,” yawned Notta, winking the only eye he had 
open, “ we’re still here, I see.” He rolled over and over 
and turned a dozen handsprings to get the kinks out of 
his back. “ I’ve often wondered what made flowers so 
stiff and now I know. It’s sleeping on the ground. I’m 
glad I’m not a flower, aren’t you, Bob?” 

Bob nodded and hopped up quite briskly. There was 
a fine breeze blowing, and the day was so sunny and 
bright that he felt ready for anything, and just to look 
at Notta made him feel happy. 

“Do you think we’ll find the Emerald City to-day?” 
he asked, skipping along beside the clown, who was 
making for a little brook just ahead. 

“Well, according to Mustafa, it ought to take three 
days,” answered Notta. “But Mustafa was never in 
a circus, and anyone who has been in a circus can travel 
three times as fast as other folks, so I shouldn’t be sur¬ 
prised at all if we were to be eating our supper in this 
Emerald City to-night. If I had only wished old Billy 
along he could have carried us in style.” 

“The elephant?” exclaimed Bob, with round eyes. The 
clown nodded and, kneeling down on the edge of the 
brook, began to splash water on his face and hands. 

66 



Chapter Five 


Bob did the same, and had just taken off his shoes in 
order to paddle properly, when a cry from Notta made 
him pause. 

“Now I’ve done it,” wailed the clown dolefully, jump¬ 
ing up and down. 

“What?” asked Bob curiously. 

“Washed my face.” Notta pointed to his face, which 
was quite red and shiny from the cold water. “And I 
haven’t any powder! Have you any powder, Bob? Oh, 
my! Cold pie! It’s hard enough to be f unn y with a 
white face, but without one I simply could not joke at 
all. Whatever’s to become of us? I’m no clown this 
way.” 

Bob was terribly distressed, for if Notta couldn’t be 
funny nothing would seem the same. He felt hastily 
in his pockets—not that he expected to find anything, 
but because he didn’t know what else to do—and in 
the last one his hand closed on a bag of candy the old 
gentleman had bought for him at the circus. It was 
squashed and sticky from being slept on, but mechan¬ 
ically Bob handed it over. 

“Why, it’s marshmallows!” cried Notta in delight. 
“Bob, you have saved the honor of my profession. We 
must preserve these carefully.” He patted his face with 
a small sugary marshmallow and surveyed his reflection 
67 




The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

with pleased satisfaction. “I feel funny already,” he 
announced cheerfully. Bob was much relieved and 
Notta did look more natural with his face whitened. 

“Now for breakfast,” said the clown, licking the 
sugar off his lips. It was great fun, Bob thought, wash¬ 
ing in a brook and having breakfast under the trees. 
After finishing off some more of Mustafa’s sandwiches, 
they started quite briskly through the forest. 

“ I think the rules are going to work better to-day,” 
chuckled the clown, “ I will use disguise number three. 
Number three’s a bear, Bob Up. Now, here’s our pro¬ 
gram, first disguise, then politeness, then joke and run. 
We shall get along famously.” Notta sprang into the 
air and clicked his heels together for very light-heart¬ 
edness. 

Bob was thinking to himself that Notta’s last dis¬ 
guise had not helped them much, but he was too polite 
to mention such a thing, and as there seemed to be no 
danger in sight he trotted along contentedly, stopping 
now and then to pick the bright blue flowers that grew 
everywhere under the trees. The forest was not so 
large as it had seemed in the night, and in an hour they 
had come to the end of it and started down a narrow 
lane. 

“Well, we’re still going north.” Notta looked com- 
68 



Chapter Five 


placently at a large sign post that stood at the begin¬ 
ning of the lane. 

“North Road to D,” said the sign briefly. 

“Wonder what D stands for?” 

“Because it can’t sit down.” The sign snapped out 
the sentence so suddenly that Notta tripped and fell 
over a stone, and Bob simply gasped with astonishment. 

“They didn’t paint any line for it to sit on,” ex¬ 
plained the sign post patiently. 

“Where does this lane go to?” gulped the clown, 
edging over and taking Bob’s hand. 

“It doesn’t go any place. It stays where it is.” 

“See here,” puffed the clown in exasperation, “I 
never heard of a talking sign post, but so long as you 
can talk, you might give us a few directions.” 

“I only give one direction and that’s north. You 
can take it, or leave it.” 

Notta tried the post with a few more questions, but 
it just sniffed sulkily, and seeing no more was to be got 
out of it, the two hurried on. 

“Maybe D stands for Dorothy,” said Bob, after a 
little silence. 

“Maybe,” mused the clown, looking uneasily over 
his shoulder, “but this is a strange country, and we’ll 
have to take it as we find it. Hello, what’s this?” 

69 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


A sudden turn brought them up short, for the lane 
was closed off by a gray wall, so high one could not pos¬ 
sibly climb over and so wide that it would take days 
to walk ’round. And in the wall were seven heavy oak 
doors. 



“This is the Kingdom of Doorways,” announced a 
large sign, posted half way up the walls. “ Be sure to 
use the right door.” 

“But which is the right door?” gasped the clown, 
half expecting the sign to answer him. 

“There are seven,” exclaimed Bob, who had been 
70 




Chapter Five 


counting them up on his fingers. 

“And only one of them right,” choked the clown anx¬ 
iously. The two stood perfectly still, gazing in fascina¬ 
tion at the seven doors. 

“Which is the right door?” repeated Notta, scratch¬ 
ing his ear doubtfully. 







CHAPTER 6 

The Seven Doors 

A S Bob and Notta came closer, they noticed that 
each door had a brass plate nailed on the center 
panel, engraved with various names and instructions. 
“Keep out!” directed one shortly. 

“Well, that surely cannot be the right one,” ex¬ 
claimed the clown, moving hastily to the next. 

“Don’t waken the baby,” advised the second door. 
72 














Chapter Six 


So Notta and Bob tiptoed carefully past. 

“ This way to the Dorms. No admittance till Febru¬ 
ary,” said the third door. 

“And it’s only May now. We cannot possibly wait 
that long.” Notta took off his hat and made the door 
a polite bow. “ Besides,” he explained to Bob, who was 
slowly spelling out the words on the fourth door, 
“Dorms stands for dormitories and dormitories stand 
for sleep. Who wants to sleep?” 

“King Theodore the Third,” said the fourth door. 

“Whew!” whistled Notta. “Another King! Come 
away, Bob Up, I don’t trust these king chaps at all.” 

“The Queen,” announced the plate on the fifth door 
proudly, “ Adora the First. No one without a title need 
apply.” 

“Well, we may not be earls, but we’re early,” 
chuckled Notta, winking at Bob. 

They hurried curiously to the sixth door. “Push!” 
said the plate. 

“But would that be wise?” ruminated Notta, rub¬ 
bing his forehead anxiously. “Let’s try the last door, 
Bob.” 

“Don’t try me too much or I’ll fall on your head,” 
wheezed a disagreeable voice. “Haven’t you anything 
better to do than go trying poor hard-working doors?” 

73 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

After a talking sign, Notta and Bob should not have 
been surprised. But they were—simply astonished 
—and for a moment could do nothing but stare. 

“This door answers itself,” said the plate on the sev¬ 
enth and strangest of all the strange doorways. 

“No bread, no ice, no milk; and if you’re selling 
brushes you might as well go at once,” continued the 
door sulkily. “We don’t need any.” 

“We’re not!” interrupted Notta, in a slightly choked 
voice. “We just want to get in.” 

“What for?” asked the door stubbornly. “Is it a 
door matter? Have you cards of admission?” 

“We’re hunting Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion,” 
volunteered Bob timidly. 

“A likely story,” sniffed the door, looking contemptu¬ 
ously from one to the other. “But what could one ex¬ 
pect of people with curly ears.” 

“We have not curly ears,” cried Bob, stamping his 
foot indignantly. 

“Don’t argue,” said the door stiffly. “How’s your 
temper—long or short?” It rolled its wooden knot 
eyes inquiringly at Notta. 

“What’s that got to do with our getting in?” asked 
the clown impatiently. 

“Short!” muttered the door triumphantly to itself. 

74 



Chapter Six 

“No, you’d better stay out, I think. Her highness is 
very slammish to-day, and the last time I let strangers 
in she nearly twisted my knob off. That’s the trouble 
around here—when anything goes wrong, everybody 
slams the door. Sometimes I almost wish I were a sofa 
cushion.” 

“I wish you were, myself,” frowned the clown, “for 
then I’d toss you out of the way instead of wasting my 
breath here. Are you going to let us in or not?” 

“Not!” snapped the door, rattling its knob vindic¬ 
tively. “And I don’t care a slam what you wish.” 

“Bob,” said Notta, turning his back on the door, “did 
you ever hear anything like that? Let’s try Number 
Two. I’d rather risk wakening a baby than trying to 
argue with a door that answers itself.” 

“ I’m not afraid of babies,” said Bob following man¬ 
fully. The knob of Number Two turned easily and the 
door swung open with such a rush that both Notta and 
Bob fell through. At the first glimpse of that baby, 
Notta clapped his hand over Bob’s mouth and, rising 
with quaking knees, pulled him toward the door. For 
you see it was a baby dragon—a snoring, roaring baby 
dragon as long and heavy as a freight train. It gave 
a shrill whistle and snort as the door slammed shut and 
Notta and Bob sat down in a weak heap. 

75 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


“Baby,” choked the clown, rubbing his eyes, which 
were full of dragon smoke. “Well, if that’s the baby, 
preserve me from the rest of the family!” 

“Will it come after us?” shuddered Bob, in a fright¬ 
ened whisper. 

“How did you like our little doorter?” The seventh 
door looked sideways at the two and chuckled wick¬ 
edly. “Still want to get in?” 

“Certainly,” said Notta, turning a dozen cartwheels 
to relieve his nervousness, “but not that way.” He 
winked reassuringly at Bob. “Before I do anything 
else I must put on my disguise. No wonder things are 
going so badly.” 

“Don’t you think you look silly enough?” wheezed 
the door rudely, as the clown drew out disguise num¬ 
ber three. Notta paid no attention to this remark but, 
turning his back, struggled hastily into number three. 
Even Bob felt reassured, for this time Notta was dis¬ 
guised as a bear—a huge and terrible-looking bear. 
Grasping Bob’s hand he rushed at the door marked 
“Push,” with such a ferocious growl that Number 
seven shook like a leaf. 

“Oh, my hinges,” chattered the door, “that went 
through me li&e a sword.” But immediately afterward 
‘it broke into derisive laughter. For no sooner had 
76 



Chapter Six 


Notta and Bob pushed Number Six, than Number Six 
pushed back, and so hard that the two went flying into 
a clump of blueberry bushes. 

“That’s the door way to treat ’em, brother,” roared 
Seven, and Notta picked himself up and straightened 
his bear skin. 

“Now some people,” muttered the clown, helping 
Bobbie out of the brushes and shaking his paw at the 
door, “some people would be discouraged. But no 
more side shows, Bob. Let’s try the Queen’s door, 
if we’re to be thrown out it might as well be done roy¬ 
ally.” 

There was a silver bell on the Queen’s door and Notta 
rang it quickly, before either of them had time to 
change their minds. For a moment nothing at all hap¬ 
pened. Then the door knob disappeared. But horrors! 
Next instant it shot out, seized the two in a terrible 
clutch, and dragged them through the keyhole. Yes, 
it really did! 

Not only had they been pulled through the keyhole, 
but they felt as if they had been pulled through the key¬ 
hole. Even Notta had nothing to say. He just lay on 
his back and panted. Whether the keyhole had 
stretched as they went through or whether they had 
shrunk, I cannot say. I only know they went through 
77 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


somehow and were on the other side of the Queen’s 
door. 

“Cards, please!” A doorman in a handsome blue 
satin uniform was leaning over them. “Are you deaf ? ” 
he asked angrily. “Are you dumb?” He thumped 
Notta on the head with his silver card plate. 

“Neither,” groaned the clown. “What do you want?” 

“Your titles,” snapped the doorman, looking nerv¬ 
ously over his shoulder. As he did so, a vase, three 
books and a pair of fire tongs struck the wall just above 
his head. 

“Oh, the Queen is in a fury, whatever shall I do 
next,” he mumbled to himself, dropping the silver plate 
and then picking it up again. 

“Let’s run,” said Bob, pressing close to Notta. But 
the clown had already recovered his spirits and was 
fumbling in his pockets under his bear skin. 

“There you are.” He calmly dropped two large but¬ 
tons on the doorman’s plate. “Just lead us to her Maj¬ 
esty at once.” 

“Someone’s been at the jam again,” quavered the 
doorman without looking at the buttons. “Oh, the 
Queen’s in a fury—a fury— a fury!” At each fury 
he gave a little hop. 

“You said that before,” observed Notta, looking 
78 



Chapter Six 


around curiously. 

“A fury! A fury! A fury!” persisted the doorman, 
continuing to hop, and as each hop carried him farther 
away he was soon out of sight. 

“Wait!” cried Notta, lumbering after him, for his 



disguise made him clumsy. 

“Wait!” cried Bob Up, running after Notta. 

Down the long hall they both ran, and, turning sud¬ 
denly, found themselves in a large, impressive throne 
room. The entire wall space was taken up by doors of 
every size and shape imaginable and before each door 
79 






The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


stood a doorman similar to the one they had already 
seen. In the center of the room were two magnificent 
thrones. On the first sat a large, handsome Queen and 
on the second a small nervous King. The King’s crown 
was entirely made of china door knobs, mounted on gold 
bars, while the Queen’s was made of many gold door 



keys. The Queen was looking at the buttons as Bob 
and Notta entered. 


“Buttons!” hissed her Majesty contemptuously. 
“What do buttons stand for?” 

“Us, your Highness!” replied Notta, bowing as low 
as his disguise would permit, and drawing Bob for¬ 
ward. 

The King twiddled his thumbs and recited: 

80 




Chapter Six 


“ B stands for buttons 
And B stands for bears, 

B stands for buttons and boy— 

Bring two chairs! ” 

“Nonsense!” thundered the Queen. The doormen 
hastily brought two chairs and Bob and Notta sat down. 

“I think he’ll appreciate rule two,” whispered the 
clown. “He’s quite polite himself.” 

“Theodore,” said the Queen, her face beginning to 
work curiously, “Theodore, I believe they stole the jam. 
Bears and little boys are always stealing jam. And 
what right have they here without titles? Where are 
their titles?” 

“Adorable Queen,” said the clown, half rising and 
pointing with his paw to the buttons, “those are the 
badges of our order. We belong, your Highness, to the 
ancient and honorable Order of Bachelors, and are at 
present lords of all we survey.” 

“Do you believe that?” The Queen turned and 
squarely faced the King. 

“No!” said Theodore emphatically, turning to 
squarely face the Queen. “How could I, when there is 
no such place. Where is this All-we-survey?” he asked 
sternly. “Is it in Oz?” 

Notta was so surprised at the sudden turn the con- 
81 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

versation had taken that he sat down with a thump. 

“He’s a dorm!” screeched the Queen, her voice rising 
higher and higher. “He’s a dorm—that’s what he is!” 

“What’s a dorm?” gasped Bob, so surprised that he 
forgot to be frightened. 

“A dorm is an animal that lies dormant in cold 
weather, like a bear or a ’possum, my dear Buttons,” 
explained the King, shaking his finger at Bob, “but 
he’s got no business here now.” 

“I see it all,” panted the Queen beginning to wave 
her arms. “He didn’t come here to sleep but to steal! 
Theodore, he has stolen the jam!” 

The King wagged his head from side to side as he 
repeated this verse: 

“ He’s come without reason 
And quite out of season; 

I agree with you, Ma’am, 

He has stolen the jam! ” 

“Put out your tongue!” commanded the Queen, wav¬ 
ing a bunch of keys at Notta. This Notta was unable 
to do, for his bear head had no tongue. 

“You see!” shrilled the Queen triumphantly, “he is 
afraid to put out his tongue. Slammer,” she called, 
turning to a huge doorman, who stood behind the 
82 



Chapter Six 

throne, “what is the punishment for door jam steal¬ 
ing!” 

The doorman whisked a little book from his pocket 
and, after flipping over a number of pages, read in a 
high nasal voice, “Any one caught stealing the Queen’s 
door jam shall have his knob twisted and every door in 
the kingdom slammed on him besides.” 

“How fearfully unhealthy,” muttered Notta, rising 
to protest his innocence. But the Queen waved him 
back, and banging her keys on the arm of her throne 
called loudly, “Slammer, carry out the sentence!” 

Slammer immediately blew a sharp whistle and every 
doorman in the room sprang toward the trembling 
Notta. 

“ Stop! ” cried Bob, doubling up his fists. “ He didn’t 
steal your old jam. ’Tisn’t a bear at all, it’s Notta!” 

“Notta?” gasped the King, rubbing his watery blue 
eyes, and leaning forward. 

“Not a bear!” puffed the clown, hastily snatching off 
his bear head, just as the first of the doormen grasped 
him by the shoulders. 


S3 




CHAPTER 7 

The Escape From Doorways 

“TT7HAT do you mean by standing there and tell- 
* * ing us you’re not a bear?” puffed the King, as 
soon as he had got his breath. 

“It was a mistake, I see that now,” said the clown, 
hastily stepping out of his disguise. “If your High¬ 
ness will overlook it this once, it will never occur 
again.” 


84 




Chapter Seven 


“Shall we overlook it?” asked the King, turning to 
squarely face the Queen. 

Adora was staring in amazement at the clown, and 
being a very curious Queen she decided not to have 
the intruder slammed till she found out all about him. 
“We will overlook it for the present,” she answered 
haughtily, waving the doormen back to their places. 

The King smiled and chanted this couplet: 

“ She’ll overlook it for the present; 

Be seated, please, and both look pleasant! ” 

Bob sat down with a sigh of relief. What queer be¬ 
ings this King and Queen were! Everything was 
queer, but for some reason or other Bob rather enjoyed 
it. King Theodore was not nearly so fierce as Mus¬ 
tafa, and his singular habit of breaking into verse 
simply fascinated the little boy. 

“This brings us to rule three,” confided Notta in a 
hoarse whisper. “Joke and run, you know!” 

“When is a door not a door?” asked the Queen, point¬ 
ing her finger suddenly at the clown. 

“When it’s adorable, like your Majesty,” replied 
Notta with a grin. “ Or when it’s a jar of door jam, like 
the one your Highness has just lost!” 

Before Adora had recovered from her surprise, Notta 
85 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

pointed his finger at the King and shouted, “Why is 
a tomato like a book?” 

“Because it grows on a vine,” answered King The- 
dore sulkily, “and you needn’t scream at me like that! ” 

“Wrong!” said Notta triumphantly. “A tomato’s 
like a book because it’s red through.” 

“Do you believe that?” asked the King, turning to 
squarely face the Queen. 

“No!” said her Majesty shortly, “I don’t.” 

“But a bojok couldn’t grow on a vine,” objected Bob 
Up mildly. 

“My books do,” insisted Theodore, pursing up his 
lips. 

“Where were you brought up?” asked the Queen, 
staring at Bob severely. 

“You needn’t answer if you don’t want to,” whis¬ 
pered the King, as Bob squirmed uneasily around in 
his chair. “The main thing is, what brought you up 
here? 


“ If it’s a story, rise and speak. 

What do you want? Whom do you seek? ” 

“It is a story,” said Notta, springing up quickly, and 
glad of this opportunity to tell their strange adven¬ 
tures and to ask a few questions about the Emerald 
86 



Chapter Seven 


City. “A long story, your Highness,” continued Notta. 
In as few words as possible be told of bis former life in 
the circus, of their flight to Mudge, of Mustafa’s de¬ 
termination to have them capture the Cowardly Lion. 


As Notta paused for breath, the King said, “Shall 



we let them pass through Doorways, my love?” In¬ 
stead of answering the Queen leaned over and whis¬ 
pered in Theodore’s ear. 

“Her Highness wishes to be amused,” announced the 
King, straightening up. “You said in this circus it 
was your business to make people laugh. Well, if you 
87 







The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


can make us laugh you may continue your journey. 
You may begin now and you may have three trials.” 

The King folded his hands on his stomach and leaned 
back vastly pleased with himself. Notta’s forehead 
wrinkled anxiously, for Queen Adora looked as if she 
had never laughed in her life. But with a wink at Bob 
the clown began. First he let out an ear splitting 
screech that so alarmed the King his crown fell off. 
Then he turned a complete somersault, chair and all, 
ran across the room on his hands and cartwheeled back 
so fast one could not have told whether he was a per¬ 
son or a pin wheel. Next he bent double, seized his 
ankles with his hands and jumped in this singular po¬ 
sition entirely over Bob, finishing with a neat bow be¬ 
fore the Queen’s throne. 

“ Do you think that’s funny ? ” puffed the Queen, turn¬ 
ing to squarely face the King, who was mopping his 
brow with a silk handkerchief. 

“No—no!” stuttered Theodore, in a slightly cracked 
voice. “It quite upset me, my love. Slammer, where’s 
my crown ? ” Slammer recovered the King’s crown and 
then both their Majesties stared solemnly at Notta. 
The clown stared back, a puzzled expression on his 
round jolly face. Then, dragging a huge handkerchief 
from his pocket, he whirled it over his hand and in- 
88 



Chapter Seven 


stantly it tied itself into a foolish rag baby, which the 
clown clasped to his bosom, crooning: 

“ I love my baby, ’deed I do, 

Indeed, indeed I do! 

He has no hair upon his head, 

But neither, Sir, have you! 

“ But his will grow, it will, I know, 

As soon as he is big, 

But yours will never grow — and so 
You’d better buy a wig! ” 

“Wh—at!” screamed King Theodore furiously, and 
Notta, dropping the handkerchief baby, noticed for the 
first time that the King’s head was entirely bald. Bob 
Up was holding himself together and smiling into his 
collar. 

“Shocking!” coughed Adora, looking at the clown 
through her eye glasses. 

“I was singing about Slammer,” gulped Notta, noting 
in an instant that the chief doorman was bald too. “Now 
just let me tell you a little joke. There was once a tri¬ 
angular pig, who could dance a triangular jig, and—” 

“Do you believe that?” shrilled King Theodore, again 
turning to face his Queen. 

“No,” snapped the Queen, shutting her lips very 
tight. “How could I?” 


89 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


“Then, if the clouds rolled away, would they be 
mist?” roared Notta, before they could continue their 
disagreeing. He bounced four feet into the air and 
pointed playfully at the King. 

“I wouldn’t miss ’em,” replied the King sullenly. 
“Do you think that’s funny?” Again he turned to the 
Queen, who shook her head emphatically. 

“Well, I think it’s funny!” said Bob, jumping out 
of his chair. He looked indignantly from the King to 
the Queen. 

“Then why don’t you laugh?” asked the King ac¬ 
cusingly. Poor Bob couldn’t explain that laughing 
was a hard matter for an orphan, so he sat down rather 
suddenly, while Notta began looking all around as if 
he were hunting something. He searched on each step 
of the King’s throne, then he looked into his Majesty’s 
lap and, finally, running around to the back peered un¬ 
der Theodore’s collar. 

“What’s the matter?” asked his Majesty irritably. 
“What are you looking for now?” 

“My joke,” sighed the clown, “I’m looking for my 
poor little joke. It was lost on you. When I asked, ‘ If 
the clouds rolled away, would they be mist,’ you should 
have said it’s according to the way you spell ’em— 
see?” 


90 



Chapter Seven 


“No,” said Theodore, sternly, “I don’t, 

“ I only see you are a dunce; 

You haven’t made us laugh, not once! ” 

The Queen nodded emphatically at this and, glaring 
scornfully at the two intruders, swept out of the throne 
room. 

“Last rule,” whispered Notta, winking at Bob—for 
out of the tail of his eye, he could see the King signal¬ 
ing Slammer. Rushing forward impetuously he flung 
up his hand. “Could your Majesty tell me a word to 
rhyme with toboggan?” he asked pleadingly. Imme¬ 
diately King Theodore’s face lit up with pleasure. He 
closed his eyes and began to drum with one hand on 
the arm of his throne. If there was one thing he adored 
it was rhyming. 

He forgot to finish his directions to Slammer and in¬ 
stead mumbled hurriedly under his breath, “ Choggin, 
foggin, doggon, noggin, loggin, joggin. Ah, I have it 
—joggin!” He opened his eyes and looked around 
triumphantly, but the clown and Bob IJp were nowhere 
to be seen. In fact they had run as soon as the King’s 
eyes closed. For Notta, while endeavoring to make 
their Majesties laugh, had discovered that one of the 
doors said “Out.” And out they went, bowling over 
91 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

doormen like ten pins in their headlong flight. As the 
door slammed they slid down a steep dark passageway 
and in about two minutes shot out into the middle of 
a dusty road. Above them on a high hill rose the grey 
walls of the singular Kingdom of Doorways. 

“Toboggan was right,” muttered the clown, rising 
stiffly. “This country grows odder and odder, Bob. 
What do they call it now—Oz? But never mind, we 
shall have lots to tell each other on stormy nights when 
we reach the states. Lots and lots!” 

Bob did not answer. Instead he clutched Notta’s 
wide pantaloon and pointed toward a large clump of 
bushes. Looking out from the leaves was the head of 
a huge, shaggy lion. A shudder ran down the clown’s 
back. He tried to remember the procedure of Bill, the 
old lion tamer in the circus. “Subdue the creature 
with your eye,” Bill said. Yes, that was what he had 
said. Notta’s knees rattled like castanets, but with a 
frightened gulp he stared the lion straight in the eye. 
For a moment nothing happened, then with a gusty 
sigh the lion began to speak. 

“ What have they done with the rest of me ? ” it roared 
mournfully. 

“Who?” stuttered Notta, getting a good hold on Bob 
and making ready to run at the lion’s first move. 

92 



Chapter Seven 


“The Mudgers,” wheezed the lion, two tears rolling 
down its nose. With many gulps and sighs it told them 
how Tazzywaller had cut it in two and imprisoned its 
back half in the lion enclosure. 


“You mean to say that you were cut in half and still 



live to tell the tale?” gasped Notta in astonishment. 

“I don’t know what you mean by telling the tail. 
How can I tell the tail anything when all my connec¬ 
tions with it are cut off? Oh, my poor tail, how it must 
miss me!” moaned the half lion. 

“Then you only have two legs,” said Bob in a relieved 
93 





The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

tone and coming out from behind Notta. The lion nod¬ 
ded gloomily. “ If I had four, do you think I’d be stand¬ 
ing propped up against these bushes. I’d have eaten 
you long ago.” 

“What a blessing,” murmured the clown under his 
breath, “that it’s only half a lion.” 

“I’d like a little sympathy,” continued the lion in its 
mournful voice. “If the little fellow would pat me on 
the head I think, it would ease me a bit.” 

“Shall I?” asked Bob Up doubtfully. 

“How do we know you won’t bite him?” asked Notta 
cautiously. 

“I haven’t the courage,” replied the lion dolefully. 
“Besides my stomach is gone and that rather takes 
the appetite away, you know. Oh, my poor little empty 
stomach, how dreadfully it must feel! Then, to bite a 
person I should have to work myself up into a rage, and 
that I cannot do without a tail to lash. And half my 
heart is missing so I—” 

“Do everything half-heartedly,” finished Notta, with 
a wink at Bob. 

“Exactly,” blubbered the half lion. Two more tears 
rolled down its nose, and these so affected Bob Up that 
he stepped bravely over and patted its mane. 

“Harder!” cried the half lion, closing its eyes. 

94 



Chapter Seven 

“Harder! Harder!” Notta seized a stick and fell to 
patting the lion’s head with this, but it kept roaring 
harder until Bob Up and Notta were perfectly breath¬ 
less. 

“Sorry,” puffed the clown at last, “but we’ll have to 
say good-bye now. We’re on our way to the Emerald 
City.” 

“Are you?” The half lion opened its eyes and re¬ 
garded them with new interest. “There’s a wonder¬ 
ful wizard in the Emerald City,” it began in a more 
cheerful roar. “ Could you, would you, tell him about 
my sad separation? Tell him I am pining for my bet¬ 
ter half and perhaps he would put me together again. 
Promise to tell him.” The poor beast was so earnest 
that he almost lost his balance. 

“Why, certainly we will tell him,” said Notta, who 
was the most obliging soul imaginable. “We’ll be glad 
to, old fellow, but I didn’t think there were any more 
wizards.” 

“No wizards?” coughed the lion, surveying the clown 
in amazement. “ Why, Oz is full of wizards. Just keep 
going north and you’ll soon find that out. I would go 
along with you, but I haven’t quite learned to travel on 
two legs, and I’m so tired of standing.” 

“Why don’t you sit down,” asked Bob thoughtlessly. 

95 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


The lion groaned and looked at him reproachfully, and 
seeing it was going to cry again Notta began to move off. 

“By the way,” he asked, pausing suddenly, “did you 
come through Doorways?” 

“Yes!” sobbed the lion, sniffing with each word, 
“through the right door.” 

“Which door was that?” 

“I don’t remember,” sighed the half lion drearily. 
“I remember nothing nowadays. When I used to for¬ 
get a fact all I had to do was to scratch my head with 
my hind leg and instantly it came back, but now—.” 
The lion began to sob heavily. 

“Well, good-bye!” said Notta uneasily, taking Bob’s 
hand. “If we see this wizard you’ve mentioned we’ll 
tell him your sad story.” 

“Good-bye,” choked the lion, waving his paw feebly. 

“I’d like to see a real wizard, Notta,” said Bob Up, 
as they trudged down the dusty road. 

“Odder and odder!” murmured the clown, shaking 
his head in bewilderment. “I declare, Bob, if you 
weren’t along I should think I were asleep and dream¬ 
ing all this.” 

“Here’s another sign,” whispered Bob Up in a low 
voiee so the sign would not hear him. “Wonder if it 
talks too.” 


96 






Iv H 



































































Chapter Seven 


“I dare say they all can if they want to,” replied 
Notta. “At any rate a sort of sign language.” 

“North Road to TJ,” said this sign, in large blue let¬ 
ters. 

“D stood for doorways. I wonder what U stands 
for?” mused the little boy, staring up at the sign with 
both hands in his pockets. 

“Maybe it stands for us?” chuckled the clown, turn¬ 
ing a handspring. 

“You!” sneered the sign, giving itself a little shake. 
“Why, I wouldn’t stand for you a single minute. I’d 
rather—.” What it would rather Notta and Bob did 
not wait to hear. Seizing hands, they ran gaily down 
the road toward the unknown and curious country of U. 





CHAPTER 8 

The Cowardly Lions Quest 

Q UITE unconscious of Mustafa’s evil plans for his 
capture, the Cowardly Lion of Oz paced to and 
fro on the wide veranda of the loveliest palace in Oz. It 
was early morning in the Emerald City, and Ozma and 
her court had not yet risen, but many of the palace pets 
were abroad and talking sociably together in the gar¬ 
den. Ozma’s Saw Horse was running races with Hank, 
98 


Chapter Eght 


Betsy Bobbin’s small mule, the Comfortable Camel 
and Doubtful Dromedary were ambling down the paths 
in their wobbly-kneed fashion, while Dorothy’s little 
dog, Toto, and the Glass Cat were arguing over the 
Patchwork Girl’s last verses. They all seemed happy 
and contented and the Cowardly Lion, noting this, 
sighed heavily. “Not one of them is ever afraid,” he 
murmured sorrowfully. “I, of all creatures in Oz, am 
the only cowardly one.” 

“What say?” The Cowardly Lion jumped, as he al¬ 
ways did at an unexpected sound, then gave a little roar 
of relief as the Soldier with the Green Whiskers stepped 
out from behind a pillar. 

“What say?” repeated the Soldier, putting down his 
gun which was never loaded, and regarding the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion inquiringly. 

“I was saying that I am the only cowardly person 
in Oz.” 

“Well, you can fight, can’t you?” The Soldier tugged 
his green whiskers thoughtfully as he asked this ques¬ 
tion. “Now, I am a very brave man, but I can never 
fight, so there you are.” This was perfectly true. The 
Soldier with the Green Whiskers, who was Ozma’s en¬ 
tire army, never was afraid, but he always ran at the 
first sign of danger. While the Cowardly Lion trembled 
99 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


terribly as enemies approached, he always fought un¬ 
til he overcame them. 

“So what’s the difference,” said the Soldier with the 
Green Whiskers, shouldering his gun and marching 
down the steps. “You feel cowardly and act bravely. 



I feel brave and act cowardly.” 

“It makes a great difference to me,” mumbled the 
Cowardly Lion. “I want to feel brave. Oh, if only 
once I could feel brave!” Shaking his mane mourn¬ 
fully, he padded down the steps after the Soldier with 
the Green Whiskers, and soon came upon the Com- 
100 



Chapter Eight 


fortable Camel and Doubtful Dromedary, who were 
swaying idly under a tall breakfast tree. 

“Morning,” wheezed the Comfortable Camel, twitch¬ 
ing his crooked nose. “Handsome as ever, I see.” 

“I doubt that, Camy,” said the Doubtful Dromedary, 
eying the Cowardly Lion solemnly. 

“He’s always doubting things,” smiled the Comfort¬ 
able Camel, rolling his large, limpid eyes. “Now, I 
never do.” 

“He’s right this time. I’m not handsome at all; no 
coward could be handsome,” said the lion gruffly, fling¬ 
ing himself on the ground beside the strange pair. “Ah, 
if I could only feel courageous!” 

“You’re nice as you are, you dear cowardly old 
thing,” snorted the camel, wagging his head affection¬ 
ately. “ Why, if you were brave, you would be just like 
any other lion. It’s being cowardly that makes you so 
interesting.” 

“I’d rather be brave than interesting,” rumbled the 
lion sadly. “You know perfectly well that courage is 
the finest thing in the world.” 

“I doubt that,” put in the dromedary, shifting a 
mouthful of grass from one cheek to the other, “ I doubt 
that very much.” 

“What’s the matter?” cried the Patchwork Girl, 
101 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

bouncing out merrily from the other side of the tree. 
“You all sound as solemn as Pokes!” 

The Patchwork Girl is a great favorite in the Em¬ 
erald City. She was made long ago by a magician’s wife 
and brought to life by the powder of life. But Ojo, a 



little Munchkin boy, who happened to be present while 
the magician was mixing Scrap’s brains, put in a large 
portion of cleverness and curiosity while the old wiz¬ 
ard’s back was turned, so that instead of being a good 
and obedient servant as the wizard had intended her 
to be, the Patchwork Girl was full of fun and mischief. 

102 




Chapter Eight 


Indeed, she refused to be a servant at all, and ran off to 
the Emerald City, where Ozma has allowed her to live 
ever since. The Emerald City is the capital of Oz and 
located in the exact center of that great and magic 
wonderland. Its palace of green marble and emeralds, 
its flowering gardens and quaint green cottages make 
it the loveliest of all fairy cities, and so many strange 
and delightful people live there it is the most interest¬ 
ing place you could imagine. 

First in interest is Ozma, the fairy ruler of Oz. No 
one could help loving her. Then there is Dorothy, who 
has had more adventures than any little girl you have 
ever heard of and who prefers to be a Princess in Oz 
to returning to her old home in Kansas. There is Tik 
Tok, a marvelous machine man who is bright as the 
copper that he is made of, and who can think, walk and 
work when properly wound. And there’s the Scare¬ 
crow, as lively and accomplished a gentleman as ever 
advised a Queen. Oh, think of a live Scarecrow! 
There’s Jack Pumpkinhead, made entirely of wood, 
excepting his pumpkin head, and there’s Sir Hokus of 
Pokes, a knight so many centuries old that only in Oz 
could he be alive at all. There’s the Tin Woodman, 
Emperor of the Winkies, who comes often to the cap¬ 
ital to visit his old friends. 

103 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


There are hundreds of the gentle Oz folk, who live 
in the little green cottages and bow politely when 
friends pass. There are the magnificent courtiers and 
palace servants, ready at a moment’s notice to pass 
round lemonade, while the Scarecrow dishes out Oz- 
cream and cake. And last but not least there are the 
amusing animals who have come to live in the royal 
stables. No wonder everyone is anxious to visit the 
Emerald City. If I could just find a magic umbrella 
or a handy cyclone I would go myself. Why, it would 
be worth the journey just to hear the Cowardly Lion 
and Comfortable Camel talking together like old cro¬ 
nies. The Comfortable Camel and the Doubtful Drom¬ 
edary were recently discovered by Sir Hokus of Pokes 
and Dorothy, and are comparative new comers in the 
Emerald City, but the Cowardly Lion was one of the 
very first of the Oz creatures to arrive at the capital 
and is a prime favorite with everyone from Princess 
Dorothy to the royal cook. 

But all the time I’ve been telling you this, the con¬ 
versation under the breakfast tree has been growing 
more interesting. 

“I thought the Wizard of Oz gave you a large dose 
of courage when you first came here,” drawled the 
camel, looking anxiously up at the Patchwork Girl, 
104 



Chapter Eight 


who was swinging head down from the breakfast tree. 

“He did,” mourned the Cowardly Lion dreamily, 
“but it has worn off and, though he has tried and tried, 
he can’t seem to mix up any more.” 



“ What is courage? Does it grow 
Like potatoes in a row? 

Don’t ask me for I don’t know! ” 


shouted Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, diving suddenly 
from the tree top and bouncing upon the Doubtful 
Dromedary. Being stuffed with cotton made Scraps 
very daring. 


105 




The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


“I’ve a hunch,” began the Comfortable Camel, very 
much relieved that the Patchwork Girl had fallen on 
his friend. 

“Where? On your back?” screamed Scraps, fling¬ 
ing her arms about his neck. 

“I’ve a hunch,” continued the camel calmly, paying 
no attention at all to the Patchwork Girl, “ that courage 
isn’t the way you feel, but the way you act. As you al¬ 
ways act bravely, why worry about the way you feel?” 

“But you never felt as frightened as I feel,” ob¬ 
jected the Cowardly Lion. 

“ His knees do quake, 

His teeth do chatter, 

His big old heart goes pitter patter! 

But what’s the odds — 

Though stiff with fright 

He still can fight with mane and might! ” 

cried Scraps, sitting down with a thud. “The more 
mane the more might,” she finished brilliantly. 

“ So rub some tonic on your brain 
And just increase your might and mane! ” 

“I doubt that,” mumbled the Doubtful Dromedary, 
looking at Scraps reprovingly. 

‘There might be something in it,” said the camel, 
106 



Chapter Eight 

chewing a wisp of grass in his slow precise fashion. 

“My mane is a little thin,” mused the Cowardly Lion, 
rubbing it thoughtfully with his paw. 

“If I were you,” said the Patchwork Girl, rising un¬ 
steadily, “ I should find a very brave person and then 
eat him up. That ought to give you a big dose of cour¬ 
age.” 

“I doubt that,” said the Doubtful Dromedary 
sharply. 

“Think how uncomfortable it would be for the poor 
brave person,” sighed the camel. “My dear, I am 
afraid you have no heart.” 

“ Of course I have no heart,” cried Scraps, starting 
to run down the path, “but I have a marvelous head.” 

The Comfortable Camel sighed and glanced uneasily 
at the Cowardly Lion. The Cowardly Lion had a far¬ 
away look in his eye, as if Scraps’ naughty suggestion 
had given him an idea, and it was not long before he 
made some excuse to get away from the two gentle 
creatures. He wanted to think. After all, why should 
he, the most famous lion in all Oz, forever be called cow¬ 
ardly? He would tell no one, but he would go off on 
a long journey and perhaps—even to himself the 
Cowardly Lion did not say it, but the idea of swallow¬ 
ing a brave person did seem a reasonable way to acquire 
107 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


courage. “I need never tell little Dorothy,” muttered 
the great beast uncomfortably, “but how proud she 
will be when I return full of courage!” 

He slipped noiselessly out of the quiet, lovely garden 
and, avoiding the yellow brick road, struck off through 



a deep forest toward the Munchkin Country to the 
south. Many brave woodcutters live in the Munchkin 
forests, and the Cowardly Lion was resolved darkly 
to swallow the bravest of them, ax and all. “If only 
my cowardly heart does not fail me at the last moment,” 
he groaned nervously, as he went crackling through the 
108 



Chapter Eight 


heavy underbrush. “I could swallow one whole, and 
that oughtn’t to hurt much.” Already his kind, cow¬ 
ardly, comfortable old heart was beginning to quake at 
the thought of swallowing a woodcutter. But, arguing 
and rumbling to himself, he continued his race toward 
the south. By the time the castle clocks chimed eight, 
he was miles and miles away from the safe and delight¬ 
ful Emerald City of Oz. 



109 







CHAPTER 9 

In Search of a Brave Man 

T HE Cowardly Lion was familiar with all the for¬ 
ests in Oz, and though the one through which he 
was passing was so dense that, even in the morning, 
only a dim light filtered through the trees, he had no 
difficulty finding his way. In the center of this forest 
lived a small colony of woodcutters, and the Cowardly 
Lion was heading straight for this colony, roaring and 
110 


Chapter Nine 


growling to keep up his courage. The more he thought 
about devouring a brave man, the faster he ran. The 
thing would have to be done quickly or not at all— 
quickly before his heart failed him entirely. As the 
hollow blows of an ax came echoing through the still¬ 
ness, a shiver ran down his back and, when a sudden 
leap brought him almost upon a tall Munchkin for¬ 
ester, he stopped altogether. 

At the sound of the crackling branches, the man 
turned, but when he saw the new comer was a lion, he 
calmly went on with his work. 

“There’s bravery for you,” gulped the Cowardly 
Lion to himself. Now was his chance, for the man’s 
back was turned. But it was no use; he simply could 
not spring on a man brave enough to turn his back, so 
instead he sighed heavily and sat down. 

“How’s the hunting?” asked the woodcutter gruffly, 
after he had brought down his tree. 

“Why, not very good, thank you,” replied the lion 
pensively. This was worse still. Could one eat up a 
man in the middle of a conversation? 

“Well, now that’s too bad.” The woodcutter mopped 
his brow and turned ’round slowly. 

“Tell me,” asked the lion, blinking his eyes unhap¬ 
pily, “are you a brave man?” 

ill 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


“Well, that,” pondered the woodcutter, sitting down 
on a stump and wiping off his ax with a bunch of leaves, 
“that I hardly know.” 

“Don’t you think talking to a lion is pretty brave?” 
asked the great beast hopefully. He gathered himself 
for a spring. If the man said yes, he would certainly 
eat him up and have an end to this disagreeable busi¬ 
ness. But instead, the woodcutter regarded him closely. 

“Say!” he burst out, hopping to his feet and giving 
the Cowardly lion a resounding whack on the back, 
“say, this is an honor. Sorry I didn’t recognize you at 
once. Boys!” He raised his voice joyfully, “Boys, 
here’s the good old Cowardly Lion, the Cowardly Lion 
himself. Come on out. We’ve often heard about you,” 
explained the big man, fairly beaming upon the em¬ 
barrassed lion, “but as none of us ever go to the Em¬ 
erald City this is the first we’ve seen of you. How is 
the Scarecrow and Ozma, and how’s Princess Dorothy? 
You see, even though we live in the woods, we know 
all about you famous folks.” 

The Cowardly Lion put his paw to his head and tried 
to think. It was upsetting to have a man you intended 
to devour so frightfully polite. “How did you know 
I was the Cowardly Lion?” he asked in a husky voice. 

“Why, first I thought you were like any other lion, 
112 





'hunter 10 


The Featherheads of Un 































Chapter Nine 


then I saw you were all of a tremble, and I says to my¬ 
self, says I, ‘Wilby, my lad, you’re looking straight at 
this famous Cowardly Lion of Oz.’ I tell you it’s a proud 
day for me. To think I’m talking face to face with a 
lion who has saved his country as many times as you 
have. I declare now, it’s a pleasure.” 

Before the Cowardly Lion could answer, a dozen 
more woodcutters came running toward them and when 
he had been introduced by Wilby Whut to each wood¬ 
cutter in turn, and to the wives and children of each 
woodcutter, he had neither the breath nor the inclina¬ 
tion to devour anybody. The children hastily wove him 
a flower chain and crowed with delight when he trotted 
them about on his back. The women brought out their 
choicest meats and dishes of honey to refresh him, 
while the men sat around and listened solemnly to all 
he had to say of doings in the Emerald City. Why, 
there had not been such a holiday in the forest since the 
wicked Witch of the West had been destroyed by lit¬ 
tle Dorothy. 

The Cowardly Lion, ashamed of the dreadful pur¬ 
pose that had brought him to the forest, outdid him¬ 
self to entertain them. And so enchanted were the 
kindly woodcutters with his conversation that he could 
not tear hims elf away until late in the afternoon. 

113 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


“I’ll never be able to eat a woodcutter,” groaned the 
Cowardly Lion, trotting slowly along in the gathering 
dusk. “Never after the way they have treated me. 
I’ll have to find some other sort of brave person to swal¬ 
low.” Scraps’ advice was proving difficult right at the 
start, and very thoughtfully the Cowardly Lion con¬ 
tinued his journey. 

It was night time when he reached the edge of the 
forest—night time and not a brave man in sight. But 
in the southern part of the Munchkin Country there are 
many great mountains and among the sturdy Munch¬ 
kin mountaineers surely there would be a brave man. 
So the lion, who did not mind at all traveling in the 
dark, ran steadily toward the south, through quiet 
little villages, through fragrant fields and meadows, 
even swimming the broad and turbulent Munchkin 
river. It was rather lonely, and he wished Dorothy or 
Sir Hokus of Pokes were along, but he well knew that 
neither would approve of his plan for acquiring cour¬ 
age. He was not sure that he approved of it himself, 
but he kept on arguing in his head and shuddering in 
his heart, and sighing because he was so great a cow¬ 
ard. Just as the sun rose he came upon a brave man, 
asleep under a blue rose bush. He knew he must be 
brave, because he was dressed as a huntsman and be- 
114 



Chapter Nine 


side him lay a terrible-looking gun. 

The Cowardly Lion’s heart began to thump like a 
triphammer, for he was much afraid of guns. But it 
did not seem at all fair to swallow a man in his sleep 
and, though he trembled so violently he could scarcely 



stand, he determined to waken the huntsman and to 
ascertain at the same time whether he were brave 
enough for his purpose. Gathering himself together 
as best he could, he sprang upon the sleeping hunts¬ 
man. There was a crackle and snap as if he had stepped 
upon a pillow stuffed with twigs. Then an ear split- 
115 



















The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

ting shriek flattened back the Cowardly Lion’s ears and 
fairly curdled his blood. At the same time his tail was 
seized from behind, and twisted terrifically. 

“Help! Help!” screamed the huntsman, trying to 
rise. 

“Ouch, Stop!” roared the Cowardly Lion, while the 
person who had hold of his tail screamed in seven dif¬ 
ferent keys. The Cowardly Lion removed his paw 
from the huntsman’s chest. “Are you a brave man?” 
he asked in a quavering voice. 

“Not very,” chattered the huntsman, jumping up 
and backing cautiously toward a tree. 

“Well, you don’t sound brave,” continued the lion 
in a relieved voice. “A brave man would not call for 
help. Let go of my tail, little boy. It’s all a mistake. 
I don’t want this huntsman after all.” 

“He’s not a huntsman,” wailed the little boy, running 
over and clasping the man around the knees. 

“Not a huntsman?” roared the Cowardly Lion, wav¬ 
ing his tail very fast. “Then what—” 

“I’m a clown, you rude monster,” spluttered the man 
indignantly. 

A clown! Well, I should say— and none other than 
our old friend Notta Bit More. Snatching off his hat 
and false whiskers, he swung Bob Up into a tree and 
116 



Chapter Nine 


nimbly followed himself. When they were both seated 
on a branch, far above the ground, he looked anxiously 
through the leaves to see what the lion would do next. 
“Never saw such a country for lions!” he puffed re¬ 
sentfully. 



The lion, with one paw shading his eyes, was looking 
up at them. “Are you afraid?” he called pleasantly. 
“Are you afraid? Well, don’t be, for being a coward 
myself makes me very sympathetic.” At the word cow¬ 
ard Notta almost fell from the tree. 

“Bob,” whispered the clown hoarsely, “it’s the Cow- 
117 





The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


ardly Lion himself! Now we mustn’t let him know 
we’re going to capture him.” 

“He’s a very bad lion,” interrupted Bob Up tear¬ 
fully. “He tried to bite you!” 

“What say?” called the lion, who could only hear 
an indistinct muttering. 

“He says you are a very bad lion,” repeated Notta, 
looking seriously at the great creature below. 

“He’s right,” sighed the lion dolefully. “I am a bad 
lion. A good lion would have eaten you up by this 
time, but a bad lion often makes a good friend. Come 
on down. It was all a mistake.” 

“Are you a friend of Dorothy’s?” asked Bob, leaning 
far out over the branch. At mention of Dorothy, the 
Cowardly Lion gave a guilty little jump. 

“Well, I should say so. Are you friends of Dor¬ 
othy’s?” 

“No, but we’re from the same country,” said the 
clown, “and if you’re quite sure you don’t want to eat 
me up, we’d like to ask you a few questions.” 

“I’ve never eaten a man in my life,”roared the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion, rolling his eyes sadly. 

“Then why start on me?” asked Notta, scratching 
his ear and winking at Bob Up. Now that the incident 
k was over it struck him as terribly funny to be perched 
118 



Chapter Nine 


in a tree conversing with the Cowardly Lion. He 
wished some of his old pals in the circus could see him. 
He’d never expect them to believe it otherwise. So 
Notta and Bob climbed down and the three regarded 
each other with frank interest. 

The Cowardly Lion had never seen a clown and the 
clown had never seen a Cowardly Lion, so there was 
much to be explained and accounted for. First, Notta 
told of their sudden transportation to Mudge, of Door¬ 
ways, and everything else except Mustafa’s determina¬ 
tion to have them capture the Cowardly Lion himself. 
They were on their way, explained the clown, to the 
Emerald City to see whether or not Dorothy could find 
a way to send them back to the United States. 

“ Ozma can do that very easily with her magic belt,” 
said the lion, “but I will go with you, for Oz is full of 
dangers for mortal folks like you, and Dorothy would 
not want anything to happen to anyone from her coun¬ 
try, I am very sure.” He then told them a lot about the 
marvelous land of Oz, with its four big countries and 
its many little ones. 

“This,” roared the Cowardly Lion with a sweep of 
his paw, “is the Munchkin Country. To the north is 
the Kingdom of the Gillikens, to the west is the Winkie 
Country and to the south the Quadling Country, ruled 
119 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


over by the good sorceress, Glinda. But all of Oz is 
under the rule of Ozma.” 

Bob’s eyes grew rounder and rounder as he told them 
how Dorothy was first blown to Oz by a cyclone, of her 
discovery of the Scarecrow, how she had lifted him 
down his pole and, with the Cowardly Lion and Tin 
Woodman, traveled to the Emerald City, then ruled 
over by the Wizard of Oz. Then he told how Ozma, the 
little fairy ruler, who was the real Queen of Oz, had 
been found and placed upon the throne. Then came the 
story of Scraps and Sir Hokus and of Tik Tok, and of 
every other amazing person living in the amazing Em¬ 
erald City. 

When the Cowardly Lion paused for breath Bob was 
jumping up and down with excitement. “Oh, I do 
want to see Dorothy and the Scarecrow! Let’s hurry,” 
cried the little orphan, throwing his arms ’round the 
Cowardly Lion’s neck. The kind old Cowardly Lion 
blinked with pleasure. 

“I’m glad you did that,” he rumbled in a husky voice, 
“ for now I know that you trust me, and have forgotten 
all about that unfortunate mistake!” 

“But why did you ask if I was brave?” mused the 
clown, who could scarcely believe that this merry lit¬ 
tle boy hugging the Cowardly Lion was the same Bob- 
120 



Chapter Nine 


bie Downs who had fallen into Mudge. 

“Because,” the lion swallowed self-consciously, “be¬ 
cause I am looking for the bravest man in Oz.” 

“ What will you do when you find him ? ” asked Notta, 
carefully folding up his huntsman suit and powdering 
his nose with another marshmallow. 

“Now, don’t ask me that, please.” The Cowardly 
Lion raised his paw pleadingly and looked so uncom¬ 
fortable Notta dropped the subject at once. He felt a 
little uncomfortable himself, for he had determined, 
as soon as the opportunity presented itself, to tie up 
the great creature and somehow or other deliver him 
to Mustafa. What else could he do? The clown sighed 
regretfully, for already he had taken a great fancy to 
the Cowardly Lion. But fancy or not, one could not 
risk turning blue, and he had Bob Up to think of. To 
gain the lion’s confidence he decided to travel with him 
for a while toward the Emerald City and, so long as 
they did that with the fixed purpose of capturing the 
Cowardly Lion, Mustafa’s ring could not turn black. 

Notta said nothing of his plans to Bob, for the boy 
was so happy at the thought of visiting the Emerald 
City, and so delighted with this new and interesting 
friend, he hated to spoil a bit of his pleasure. So he 
merely opened another pack of Mustafa’s sandwiches 
121 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


and they all had a cheerful breakfast together. Then, 
with Bob proudly riding the lion, they started off once 
again toward the north. 

“Would you mind telling me why you pretended to 
be a huntsman?” asked the Cowardly Lion. He had 



been looking sideways at Notta for some time, trying to 
puzzle the thing out for himself. 

“Not at all,” chuckled the clown, chinning himself 
on the branch of a tree. “I disguised myself as a 
huntsman to frighten off any wild animals while we 
were asleep. I always disguise myself when there is 
122 



Chapter Nine 


danger in the wind—don’t I, Bobbie?” The little boy- 
nodded his bead solemnly. 

“Does it help?” asked the Cowardly Lion in an 
interested voice. Bob Up looked thoughtful, but as 
the clown nodded emphatically, he said nothing. It 
seemed to Bob that Notta always picked the wrong 
disguise, but the clown was so confident and cheerful 
about it he could not bear to discourage him. So he 
listened politely while Notta explained his rules of 
disguise, politeness, joke and run. When he had fin¬ 
ished the Cowardly Lion shook his head. 

“I suppose,” said he, half closing his eyes, “that you 
cannot help your disguises any more than I can help 
my cowardice.” 

“It isn’t that I am afraid,” explained Notta hastily, 
“but I can fight better when I’m not looking like 
myself. When I look like myself I feel funny and 
when I feel funny, I can’t fight.” 

“Well, with me,” said the Cowardly Lion, who like 
most of us enjoyed talking about himself, “the funnier 
I look, the harder I fight. So don’t frighten me, I beg 
of you, for when I’m frightened I fight terrifically.” 

“I’ll remember what you say,” said Notta, turning 
a somersault, and wondering uneasily what the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion would do when he tried to capture him. 

123 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


But the thought of being captured never entered the 
lion’s head. He was rather glad to have the two 
strangers turn up this way. It postponed that dis¬ 
agreeable business of eating a brave man. Of course, 
if they should run across one on the journey, well 



enough, but first it was his plain duty to conduct this 
clown and little boy safely to the Emerald City. 

Notta was so cheerful and jolly and made so much 
fun out of everything that the Cowardly Lion felt 
repaid for any trouble he was taking and Bob Up had 
not been so happy since they had fallen into this 
124 




Chapter Nine 


bewildering country. Toward noon, as tbe sun grew 
rather hot, the Cowardly Lion turned into a small 
inviting wood which he felt was a short cut to the 
yellow brick road. But on the very first tree, a large 
sign made them pause. The sign said, “ Twenty trees 
to U.” 

“I never head of any country called U,” mumbled 
the Cowardly Lion, blinking up at the sign in surprise. 

“There was one just like this on the road we came 
down yesterday,” said Notta. “Bob and I wondered 
what it stood for.” 

“Well, I don’t know,” mused the lion. “That’s the 
queer thing about Oz. Even old residents like myself 
are often amazed to find new countries and peoples 
where we never expected to find them. According 
to the maps there are only scattered farms between 
here and the Emerald City. But so long as we have 
to go through this wood, we might as well see what 
U stands for.” 

Bob was the first to discover that every now and 
then the trees were numbered and, following them in 
the order of their numbers, took them deeper and 
deeper into the forest. When they reached the tree 
numbered nineteen, they were alarmed to note that 
all the other numbers that had guided them had dis- 
125 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


appeared. The wood had meanwhile grown so dense 
that they could hardly push on and, when Notta sug¬ 
gested that they go back, they found they had lost the 
way entirely. The Cowardly Lion was full of stickers 
and thorns and, while Bob picked them out of his 



woolly mane, the clown climbed the nineteenth tree to 
make a little survey of the country. 

With a shout he came scrambling down. “There’s 
a clearing just beyond, and I think I made out twenty 
on the tree in the center,” puffed Notta. “Come on!” 
The clown was growing more interested in this strange 
126 








Chapter Nine 


country every minute. He could hardly wait to see 
what was going to happen next. 

“ Let me go first. My hide doesn’t tear as easily as 
yours,” said the Cowardly Lion, and he began pushing 
through the heavy thicket in the direction pointed out 
by Notta. Holding up their arms to protect their 
faces, the others followed and in almost no time had 
come out on a small clearing. 

As they looked the clown clutched Bob, while the 
Cowardly Lion blinked with astonishment. The 
twentieth tree was knitting furiously, holding in its 
long fingers nearly a hundred gleaming needles, and 
bending its witchy head every once in a while to exam¬ 
ine the great, cloudy net that flowed all around it. For 
some moments they watched in puzzled silence. Then 
Bob screamed, the Cowardly Lion roared and Notta 
gasped with alarm. For the net suddenly swooped 
down and scooped them up like a school of fish. The 
tree gave a disagreeable little laugh, quickly knitted 
the top of the net together and, lifting all its branches 
at once, tossed the luckless travelers high over its 
head. 

Miraculously, as it struck the air, the big porous bag 
filled out like a balloon and went sailing upward at a 
terrible rate—the Cowardly Lion, Bob Up and Notta 
127 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


rolling over and over in the bottom and bumping and 
banging together in a most painful and unpleasant 
fashion. 





CHAPTER 10 

On the Isle of Un 

“TP YOU could just stop trembling,” puffed the 
A clown, trying to keep out of the Cowardly Lion’s 
way, “I think it would help.” 

“But how can I stop trembling when I am so fright¬ 
ened,” complained the lion, clutching the swaying net 
with all four paws. 

“I’m frightened tool” wailed Bob, who was rolling 
129 


The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

and bouncing first against one, then against the other. 

“It seems to me you’re shaking about a lot your¬ 
self,” said the Cowardly Lion reproachfully, as Notta 
dove suddenly into his ribs. “What are you trying 
to do?” 

“My disguise!” panted the clown, clutching at his 
chest. “If I could only put on my disguise.” 

“Aho!” mumbled the Cowardly Lion, and stopped 
trembling long enough to grin. But just then the 
balloon calmed down, and changing its course sailed 
gently and levelly through the sky, so that the three 
huddled together in the bottom were fairly com¬ 
fortable. 

“I guess TJ stands for Up. You surely bobbed up 
this time, didn’t you?” Notta winked merrily at the 
little orphan, and then peered curiously through the 
holes in the net. “This reminds me of a balloon trip 
I once made for the circus. Wonder where we’ll 
land?” 

“Are we to land at all?” sighed the Cowardly Lion 
unhappily. Two of his legs had slipped through holes 
in the net and he was feeling uneasy and uncomfort¬ 
able. “ Climb on me, Bob, my boy. It will be a little 
softer. When you’ve been in Oz as long as I have; 
you’ll take nothing for granted.” He looked moum- 
130 



Chapter Ten 


fully at the clown who was that moment below him. 

“ Then I’ll just take it Oz is,” laughed Notta. “ Why, 
here’s land now! And we’re slowing down.” So they 
were, down—down—down, until they were over a 
rocky island. When the net was almost resting on a 
little green hill, it turned completely and suddenly 
upside down, and shook them out with such violence 
that they rolled all the way to the bottom. The Cow¬ 
ardly Lion jumped up first and hurriedly placed him¬ 
self in front of Bob. Though he was trembling even 
more than usual, he knew that he was a better fighter 
than these helpless mortals. And that there would be 
fighting he felt reasonably sure, for a great crowd was 
coming noisily toward them. 

Notta nervously jerked Bob to his feet and stood 
beside the Cowardly Lion. There was no time for dis¬ 
guising. “We’ll just start with rule two,” panted the 
clown, running his finger hurriedly ’round his collar. 
“Let’s be ex—tre—eemly polite. That’s the way to 
meet strangers.” 

“All right,” agreed the Cowardly Lion in a rather 
choked voice, “you meet ’em with politeness, and if 
that fails, I’ll meet ’em with something else.” He 
gnashed his teeth to keep them from chattering. As 
the first of the company reached the foot of the hill 
131 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


Bob gave a little scream, but Notta calmly stepped 
forward. 

“Ladies and gentlemen I” began the clown in his 
best circus manner, “Let me introduce you to the most 
famous lion in the world, the Cowardly Lion of Oz, as 
brave as he is cowardly; allow me to present Bob Up, 
the brightest little boy in the United States, and my¬ 
self, a harmless clown whose tricks have astonished 
the crowned heads of two continents. Ladies and 
gentlemen, let—” 

“Two creatures and a beast,” called the leader of the 
company, interrupting Notta in the middle of a sen¬ 
tence. “Two creatures and a beast,” repeated the 
others, staring dully at the newcomers. The Cowardly 
Lion growled threateningly at this and Notta began 
running over all the jokes that he knew. As for Bob, 
he was too amazed to do anything but stare, for these 
were' certainly the most curious beings he had ever 
seen in his life. 

To begin with, they had feathers instead of hair. 
These feathers were small and fine and grew smoothly 
back from their foreheads, becoming longer at the back 
and curling softly behind the ears. Their eyes were 
perfectly round and their noses almost like bird beaks. 
Otherwise they were the same as regular folks, except 
1S2 



Chapter Ten 


in their manner of walking, for their feet turned in so 
much that they had to hop, putting one foot down and 
then hopping over it. Before Notta could start a joke, 
the leader of these singular creatures motioned to two 
behind him. They immediately stepped forward, 
unfurling as they did so a large banner. 

“Unwelcome to Un,” said the banner in crooked yel¬ 
low letters. 

“No use being polite then,” rumbled the Cowardly 
Lion and, taking matters into his own paws, he gave 
such a thundering roar that the very ground trembled. 

“Ginger poppa!” gasped the clown, almost as fright¬ 
ened as the Featherheads. The effect on the crowd was 
simply breath-taking. Beginning at the back of their 
necks, their feathers slowly rose straight on end until 
each head looked like a huge and quivering feather 
duster. The Cowardly Lion tried to roar again, but the 
best that he could manage was a chuckle. Notta took 
one look, then fell up against a tree and laughed until 
the tears rolled down his cheeks. Even Bob giggled. 

“Try ’em again,” wheezed the Cowardly Lion. “I 
think they’ll listen to you now. Wiping his eyes on 
his sleeve, Notta stepped forward and addressed the 
leader. 

“Could you tell us a little about this interesting 
133 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


country of yours, and the quickest way out of it?” he 
inquired politely. Slowly the feathers on the heads 
of the crowd began to settle. 

“’Taint a country, it’s a skyle,” answered the Feath- 
erhead, blinking rapidly. 

“A skyle?” repeated the clown, glancing doubtfully 
at the Cowardly Lion, who appeared to be as puzzled 
as he was. “What is a skyle?” asked Notta curiously. 

“ This is,” snapped the leader disagreeably. “ You’re 
as ignorant as a fish, aren’t you?” Then as the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion gave a threatening growl he continued 
grudgingly, “A skyle is an isle in the sky, and anyone 
who has studied skyography ought to know that. I 
suppose you don’t even know what an isle is?” He 
looked contemptuously at the three strangers. 

“I do. An isle is a small body of land entirely sur¬ 
rounded by water,” cried Bob, delighted to find that 
geography was of some use after all. 

“Well,” said the Featherhead uneasily, “then I guess 
you’ll understand when I tell you that a skyle is a small 
body of land entirely surrounded by air.” 

“Air!” spluttered Notta. “I say, how does one get 
off a skyle?” 

“You’ll soon find that out!” muttered the Feather- 
head, and all the others began nodding and clucking 
134 



Chapter Ten 


for all the world like a company of hens. 

“What do you call yourselves?” asked the Cowardly 
Lion. Now that he knew how to frighten them, he no 
longer felt afraid. 

“We’re Uns, we are, and nobody but Uns are allowed 
on this skyle. We’ll have to take you along to the 
palace and his royal Skyness will decide what’s to be 
done with you.” 

“Another king,” groaned the clown. 

“Isn’t it time to run?” asked Bob, tugging at Notta’s 
pantaloon, for the Uns were drawing closer this time, 
paying no attention to the roars of the Cowardly Lion. 

“No use running, Bob. We might fall off. Perhaps 
this King is a better fellow than his subjects. 

“Take us to your King!” cried the clown, settling 
his cap determinedly. Hopping and muttering, the 
Uns formed two crooked lines, and with the three trav¬ 
elers in the center marched away to the palace. There 
were many tall trees on the skyle of Un and, more 
remarkable still, every tree had a rough boxlike struc¬ 
ture built in its branches, like enormous bird houses. 
They were reached by rough ladders and the Uns 
seemed to be as much at home on the branches as on 
the ground. Some of the women standing on lower 
branches were hanging clothes on upper ones as calmly 
135 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

as ordinary folk string the washing up in the yard. 
But, as Notta whispered to Bob, what could one expect 
of Featherheads? 

The skyle itself was rocky and barren and there 
seemed to be no farms, buildings nor industries of any 



kind. “What do you do here for a living?” asked 
Notta, turning to the Un beside him. 

“Fish, mostly,” said the Un. 

“What for?” asked the Cowardly Lion, treading on 
Notta’s heels in his eagerness to hear. 

“Birds,” sniffed the Un, looking over his shoulder 
136 











Chapter Ten 


scornfully. “What did you think we’d fish for?” 

“ Oh, but you couldn’t fish for birds,” objected Bob 
Up, stopping short, while Notta burst into a loud roar 
of laughter. The Un glared at all three. 

“The air’s full of ’em,” he announced sharply, and 
then, as the clown continued to laugh immoderately, 
his feathers began to ruffle with rage. 

“You’re idiots!” he screamed, thrusting his sharp 
beak almost in Notta’s face. “Idiots!” echoed all the 
other Uns immediately. Several trod on the clown’s 
toes and, seeing that Bob was rather pale, Notta hastily 
changed the subject. Not long after that they came 
to the palace. To Bob it looked like a huge barn stuck 
between four trees. It was about ten feet from the 
ground and from the top of each tree fluttered a bright 
yellow flag bearing the word, UN. 

The Cowardly Lion trembled a good deal as they 
went up the rickety green ladder, but with a little help 
from Notta he managed it, and next instant they were 
in the presence of the King. 

“Two creatures and a beast, your Skyness!” an¬ 
nounced the leader of the delegation. Then stepping 
close to Notta he shouted at the top of his voice, “His 
Majesty, I-wish-I-was, King of Un!” Notta’s cap fell 
off and he clapped his hand to his ear. The Cowardly 
137 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

Lion made a little spring at the TJn and had the pleas¬ 
ure of seeing the King’s feathers rise erect upon his 
head and wave to and fro. 

“Approach, creatures and beast,” commanded I- 
wish-I-was in a slightly shaky voice. He was sitting 



on a high wooden perch, swinging his feet. Grouped 
about him were a number of Uns in bright green uni¬ 
forms that exactly matched their feather hair. Notta 
made a deep bow and Bob and the Cowardly Lion 
moved forward together. 

“How did you come to come here?” asked I-wish-I- 

138 









Chapter Ten 


was, adjusting a pair of huge spectacles on his ter¬ 
rible beak. 

“We didn’t come to come at all,” said Notta hastily. 
“We were standing under a tree, watching it knit—a 
very strange sight, your Skyness will agree.” 

“Why shouldn’t it knit?” snapped the King im¬ 
patiently. “There’s no law against it, is there? In 
fact, if it were not for that tree, we’d be in a pretty 
state for fishing nets.” 

“Well, we were caught in the tree’s net, the net flew 
up and here we are,” finished Notta, determined not 
to quarrel if he could help it. 

“A mighty poor catch, I call you,” muttered the 
King complainingly. He turned to his guard to see 
whether they agreed with him and they all nodded so 
hard it made Bob dizzy. 

“Are you willing to become Uns?” he asked 
gloomily. 

“I’ll not grow feathers for anybody,” growled the 
Cowardly Lion, shaking his paw at I-wish-I-was. 

“Wait till you’ve tried,” answered the King loftily. 
“But what I mean is this: Each of you must do some¬ 
thing unish, for we are all Tins here. I’m unfair—any 
Un will tell you that. Bill, there,” he pointed proudly 
at the commander of the Guard, “Bill, he’s ungrate- 
139 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


ful.” Then he waved to the Un beside him. “And 
Tom’s unkind. See what I mean? We’re all Uns to¬ 
gether.” The King rubbed his clawlike hands glee¬ 
fully. 

“But I never heard of such a place!” gasped Notta. 

“Of course not! Un’s positively unheard of,” con¬ 
fided the King, smoothing back his feathers compla¬ 
cently. Bob’s eyes grew rounder and rounder, Notta 
swallowed, and the Cowardly Lion tilted one ear for¬ 
ward to be sure he was hearing aright. 

“Why, you’re Uns already,” said I-wish-I-was, with 
a mean little chuckle. 

“You,” he pointed his long thin finger at Notta, “are 
unnatural. You,” he pointed to the Cowardly Lion, 
“are unpleasant. And you,” he wiggled his finger 
teasingly at Bob, “you’re uninteresting!” 

“Thanks!” said the clown, taking off his cap. 

“And besides that,” cried I-wish-I-was, his voice ris¬ 
ing to a shrill squeak, “you’re all uninvited.” 

“And bound to be unlucky,” gurgled Bill of the 
Guard. 

“And terribly unhappy,” squealed another, dancing 
up and down. 

“And terrifically uncomfortable,” added a third. 
Hereupon the Uns began hopping frantically about, 
140 



Chapter Ten 


each shouting something unish, till Bob covered his 
ears and the Cowardly Lion began to lash his tail 
with fury. 

“Stop! Stop!” shouted the clown, stamping his foot. 
“I believe this is the unpleasantest island I’ve ever 
been on.” Loud cheers from the Uns interrupted him 
here. “And if you will tell us the way off we’ll go 
at once.” 

I-wish-I-was raised his claw for silence, pulled a pad 
from his pocket, a long feather quill from his head 
and, dipping it in ink, wrote something in a great 
hurry. This he handed to the Commander of the Guard 
and Notta looking over his shoulder read, “Push them 
off at the first opportunity.” The Guard, not knowing 
that the clown had read the message, bowed and began 
whispering to his comrades, while Notta scratched his 
ear and wondered what he should do. 

“ Could your Skyness give us a bite to eat?” he asked 
presently. That, he reflected, would give him time 
to think. 

“Certainly not,” answered the King, snapping his 
birdlike eyes. “If you’re hungry, go fish, the same as 
the rest of us do. Bill, give them s<5me rods.” He 
winked wickedly at the green guardsman. Notta saw 
him make a little push in the air. Bill with a chuckle 
141 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


winked back; then brought three rods and reels and 
handed them to the clown. 

“Oh!” cried Bob Up, “I’d love to go fishing!” 

“Where do you fish around here?” asked Notta, 
wrinkling up his forehead. 

“Just go to the edge of the skyle and drop your line 
over,” said the King, and nudged the Un nearest him. 
At this all the Uns began nudging and winking first 
one eye and then the other. 

“Come on,” whispered Notta and, tucking the rods 
under his arm, ran toward the door. The Cowardly 
lion, in his haste to follow, fell all the way down the 
ladder, but at a quick word from Notta jumped up, 
and as Bob joined them they all started on a run for a 
little clump of trees. “I tell you,” puffed the clown, 
pausing at length to mop his brow, “they are bad Uns, 
sure enough. They mean to push us off the skyle. 
That’s why they sent us fishing.” 

“Just let ’em try it!” roared the Cowardly Lion, 
shaking his mane. He had skinned his knees in his 
fall down the ladder and was feeling quite ready for 
a battle. 

“But shall we go fishing or not?” asked the clown 
uncertainly. Bob Up said nothing, but he looked wist¬ 
fully at the fishing rods. Bob had never been fishing 
142 



Chapter Ten 


in his life, and even the thought of being pushed off 
the skyle did not seem as dreadful as being deprived 
of this pleasure. Notta saw the look. 

“I’m hungry as a lion,” said the clown suddenly, 
“ and we’ve lost Mustafa’s packets somewhere between 
Oz and Un. 

“Well, you’re not as hungry as this lion,” rumbled 
the Cowardly Lion, with a wink at Bob. “It must be 
long past noon. Let’s risk it. You fish and I’ll watch, 
and if any of these Uns start pushing us—.” The Cow¬ 
ardly Lion gave a roar and shook his paw threateningly 
at the palace of I-wish-I-was. 



143 




CHAPTER 11 

A Strange Fishing Party 

T O their surprise, none of the Uns followed them, 
and in about an hour they had come to the edge of 
the skyle. The Cowardly Lion shuddered as he looked 
down into the clear blue air, and even Notta had a queer 
feeling in the pit of his stomach as the white clouds 
went rolling and tumbling past them. 

“Do you think we’ll catch any birds, Notta?” asked 
144 







1 








. ... _ • 


llilill 




Uns about to attack the Cowardly Lion, Notta and Bob Up — Chapter 11 































Chapter Eleven 

Bob Up, venturing so near the edge that the Cowardly 
Lion gave a roar of terror. “ Remember you’re not a 
bird,” he warned. 

“I’ll fix him,” said jSTotta. Cutting the line from one 
of the rods he doubled it many times and fastened Bob 
securely to the tree. With what was left, he made a 
safety belt for himself. Then, while the Cowardly 
Lion shivered with fright, they sat upon the edge of 
the skyle and cast their lines far into the air below. 
“Now, Bob my lad, don’t expect a bite too soon,” said 
the clown, “for fishing is a mortal slow business, but a 
fine one for thinking, and all of us must think of a way 
to get off this island before we’re pushed off by the 
Uns.” 

The Cowardly Lion, with his back to the two fisher¬ 
men, kept a sharp lookout for the enemy, and all three 
tried to think. But thinking when you’re hungry is 
hard work. Besides, there were so many things to dis¬ 
tract one’s attention. The sky, as the afternoon ad¬ 
vanced, turned a soft and dreamy pink, and the clouds 
drifting by were of every shape and color imaginable 
—green, purple, amber and gold—and of such mar¬ 
velous form that each seemed lovelier than the last. 
There were castles and tall masted ships, there were 
caravans and chariots, and once a white and wonderful 
145 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


Princess waved to the little boy from the back of a 
feathery swan. So it was small wonder Notta and Bob 
forgot the Uns, and even their fishing lines, blowing 
gently to and fro in the soft pink air waves. Then, all 
at once, Bob’s line gave a jerk and had he not been tied 
to the tree he would certainly have been pulled off the 
skyle. 

“Oh! Oh!” screamed the little boy in delight, “I’ve 
caught something!” 

Giving his rod to the Cowardly Lion, who was 
blinking dreamily at a wonderful cloud city, the clown 
ran to help Bob, and hand over hand they pulled up the 
line. What do you suppose was on it? A goose—a 
simply enormous goose. It was smoking gently as they 
drew it over the edge. 

“Why, it’s cooked!” marveled Notta, unfastening 
the line which had caught in the bird’s legs. And so it 
was—cooked in all its feathers with its head tucked 
under its wing. 

“Aha, so our goose is cooked, is it?” observed the 
Cowardly Lion, sniffing the air hungrily. “ Must have 
flown too near the sun.” 

“Well,” chuckled Notta, “that I don’t pretend to 
know. Fishing for birds is strange enough, but catch¬ 
ing a cooked goose is almost too good to be true.” 

146 



Chapter Eleven 


“But it is true,” exulted Bob, clapping bis bands, 
“and I caugbt it!” While tbe Cowardly Lion watched 
the two rods, and Bob proudly picked bis goose, Notta 
ran off in search of water. In a few minutes be came 
running back with a bucket full which he had drawn 
from a small sky well. The bucket, one of the canvas 
collapsible kind used in circuses, the clown had fortu¬ 
nately stowed under his capacious belt. As neither 
meat nor drink was now lacking, they sat down under 
a small tree and dined quite merrily. The Cowardly 
Lion ate one half the goose, bones and all, and Notta 
and Bob finished off the rest. 

“It looks,” said the clown, rising to take a drink of 
water out of the bucket, which he hung on a branch of 
the tree, “it looks as if the Uns had forgotten us.” 

“Maybe,” mused the lion, shaking his mane, “but we 
mustn’t forget them. Have you thought of anything 
yet?” 

“Not a thing,” confessed the clown cheerfully. He 
turned a dozen cartwheels, walked a few paces on his 
hands, and ended up with a somersault over Bob. 
“You’re a spry one,” said the Cowardly Lion admir¬ 
ingly, as the clown sat down with his back against a 
tree, “ as spry a one as I’ve ever met.” 

“Thank you,” laughed Notta. “If thinking came as 
147 



The Cowardly Lion of Qz 

easily as cartwheeling we’d be off this skyle in no time. 
But now that we’re fed and comfortable, suppose we 
think again.” 

“I’d rather fish,” said Bob Up promptly. “ Can’t we 
fish a little longer, Notta?” 



“Well, there’s no harm in it,” replied the clown, 
winking at the Cowardly Lion, “and as we’ll probably 
have to spend the night here we may as well catch 
something for breakfast.” 

“Try to eatch me something uncooked this time, 
won’t you?” asked the Cowardly Lion, thumping his 
148 






Chapter Eleven 


tail lazily on the ground. “You know I prefer my 
food uncooked.” Bob smiled a little at this and, mov¬ 
ing his rod gently to and fro, thought about the comical 
adventures he was having. Notta, with his back to the 
tree, was fishing too, and everything was very quiet. 
All around them the light was fading, and the clouds 
turned from pink to a dull gray and rushed past with 
an angry sort of sighing. Night was coming on, and 
soon the stars began to twinkle above and below the 
little skyland. Bob had never seen stars so large nor 
so bright, but then Bob had never been so close to them 
before. He was thinking rather solemnly that it would 
be fun to catch a star, when Notta, oppressed by the 
silence, burst into a merry song: 

“ A little chocolate cooky man 
Went calling on a plate. 

She said, ‘ Sir, it is ten o’clock! 

Why do you come so late? ’ 

“ ‘ Because I’m made that way,’ said he, 

‘ My little china girly, 

I’m always choco-late, you see, 

So how could I come early? ’ 

“ ‘ And is it not, my darling, 

Better chocolate than never? ’ 

The wee plate cracked a little smile. 

‘ Oh, sir,’ said she, ‘ you’re clever! 

149 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

“ ‘ And you may call to-morrow — 

Even though you’re choco-late! ’ 

But pshaw! He never came, because 
That cooky man was ate! ” 

Bob laughed right out loud, and Notta, who had been 
trying to make Bob merry, tossed his cap triumphantly 
into the air. 

“Very good,” murmured the Cowardly Lion, waving 
his tail gently, “ except that last, line. ‘ Was ate.’ Isn’t 
that a bit ungrammatical, even for Oz?” 

“There you go getting unish,” teased Notta. “I 
guess I can be ungrammatical in Un.” 

“Notta! Notta! I’ve got another bite,” screamed Bob, 
hopping about on one foot. That finished the argu¬ 
ment. 

“Hope it’s a bite for me,” said the Cowardly Lion. 
Then he gave a little roar of surprise, for over the edge 
of the skyle came a dog—as dear and shaggy a little 
bow-wow as had ever barked at an ice man. The hook 
had caught neatly in its collar and, though it was a 
little out of breath, it was otherwise unhurt. 

“Well,” rumbled the Cowardly Lion, rising on his 
haunches, “so this is breakfast? Bob, what do you 
mean by catching a dog for my breakfast?” 

“Oh, please,” whimpered the dog, rolling its soft 

150 



Chapter Eleven 


eyes in terror. “You wouldn’t eat a little fellow who 
was only out for a walk, would you?” He sat up and 
begged so prettily Bob caught him up in his arms and 
hugged him. “Oh, Notta, may I keep him? I’ve never 
had a dog!” 

“Well, now,” said the clown, scratching his ear, “I 
don’t see why not.” 

“Don’t keep me,” wailed the dog piteously, “for I 
belong to a little boy on another star, and he would 
miss me very much.” 

“What kind of a dog are you?” gasped the clown, 
staring at the little creature. “What do you mean by 
taking a walk through the sky, and living on a star?” 

“I am a skye terrier,” answered the little dog, look¬ 
ing anxiously from one to the other. “You wouldn’t 
hurt a little fellow like me, would you?” 

“But how will you get home?” asked Notta. 

“Just throw me back into the air,” barked the dog, 
and licked Bob on the nose so coaxingly he couldn’t 
bear to refuse, though his heart was heavy at the 
thought of losing him. 

“I guess that other little boy would miss you,” sighed 
Bob. So, kissing the shaggy little terrier right on 
the nose, he dropped him gently over the edge of the 
skyle, and as they watched he scampered hurriedly 
151 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


over a cloud and then along through the sky, as easily 
as if he had been on land instead of air. He paused 
once and looked over his shoulder, then with a joyful 
bark and wave of his tail ran off, vanishing like a speck 
in the distance. Notta, seeing that Bob was down¬ 
hearted at losing the little fellow, suggested that they 
start fishing again. “Who knows what we may catch 
this time?” exclaimed the clown, pushing back his cap, 
and snapping his line energetically. 

Almost at once both lines became taut, and when 
they were drawn up, two shiny silver packages fell 
from the slender hooks. “Dreams for a little boy,” 
said a small label on Bob’s package. “Dreams for a 
big boy,” said the label on Notta’s package. 

With trembling fingers they untied the silver rib¬ 
bons, and had no sooner done so than Bob drooped 
gently against Notta, and the clown fell back against 
a tree. In another second both were fast asleep— 
dreaming the lovely stories they had caught in the sky. 

It happened so quickly that the Cowardly Lion was 
completely taken by surprise. He sniffed the silver 
papers. “Dreams,” read the Cowardly Lion by the 
light of the stars. “Well, I guess they’re regular sleep¬ 
ing powders. It’s a good thing I didn’t catch a dream, 
for somebody must stay awake and keep guard.” The 
152 



Chapter Eleven 


big beast yawned and stretched, then carefully 
dragging Bob and Notta back from the edge of the 
skyle, set himself to keep the watch while they slept. 

He was terribly sleepy himself and keeping awake 
was a hard fight, but the Cowardly Lion knew that the 
lives of these two mortals depended upon him, so he 
walked up and down, and down and up the edge of the 
Skyland, and presently he heard a sound that made 
him quake with terror. Footsteps in the woods! Hun¬ 
dreds of them—coming nearer every minute! 

“ The Uns,” choked the Cowardly Lion, and hesitated 
between waking Notta and Bob, or advancing to meet 
the enemy. Before he could make up his mind, a whole 
party, their feathers gleaming strangely in the moon¬ 
light, burst out of the trees. 

“Push ’em off! Shove ’em off!” screamed the leader, 
waving on the rest. It was I-wish-I-was, and in little 
hops and springs they came tumbling toward him. 

With a roar that sounded more terrible than any¬ 
thing you could imagine, because it was mostly made 
up of terror, the Cowardly Lion sprang straight at 
them. Down went I-wish-I-was and a dozen of his war¬ 
riors. Shaking and quaking with fear, the Cowardly 
Lion made quick springs and snatches, and when the 
Uns with little screams of rage, drew back, his mouth 
153 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

was full of feathers. But they were far from giving 
up and after a brief parley came on again. Once more 
the Cowardly Lion struck out, left and right. This 
time two dozen more were down, but the Cowardly 
Lion was slowly being forced toward Notta and Bob, 
and the treacherous edge of the Skyle. 

Armed with feathered sticks and screaming hor¬ 
ribly, the Uns came on a third time, and though the 
Cowardly Lion fought them with might, mane, claw, 
tooth and nail, he was almost smothered by the attack. 
Something of the alarm made the clown stir in his 
sleep, and the triumphant shout of I-wish-I-was 
brought him wide awake. He sat up just in time to 
see the Cowardly Lion go down under a perfect wave 
of Uns. 

“Help! Help!” screamed Notta, but there was no one 
to help them. He made a little dash to the left, but the 
line that tied him to the tree caught him with a jerk. 
He made a little dash to the right, spun around and 
clasped his stomach in despair. Just then the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion, growling like a whole menagerie, shook off 
the mass of Uns and bounded to his side. Feathers 
were strewn in every direction, and a hundred of the 
Uns lay where they had fallen. 

The poor Cowardly Lion was shaking with exhaus- 
154 



Chapter Eleven 

tion and fright, but never thought of giving up, and 
when the Uns made another rush, he met them as 
valiantly as ever. Wild screams from the Feather- 
heads in the rear made him pause and look over in 
alarm at Notta. The clown, with staring eyes, was 
mumbling continuously under his breath, and touching 
first one and then another of the crowd swarming 
around him, and each time he touched an Un, the Un 
disappeared. 

The Cowardly Lion stopped fighting and sat down 
with a thud. The Uns stopped fighting, and those in 
front began to tread on the toes of the ones in back, 
in their anxiety to get away. When twenty had van¬ 
ished in as many seconds, the rest ran howling to the 
woods. 

“Well,” panted the Cowardly Lion, rolling his eyes 
wildly at Notta. 

“You saved my life, old fellow,” cried the clown, 
giving h im an impulsive hug. 

“And you saved mine,” gasped the lion, as soon as 
he had breath enough to gasp. “ But how did you do it 
and where are they?” 

“ In Mudge,” explained the clown, drawing his knees 
up to his chin and winking at the Cowardly Lion, 
“in Mudge and scaring the life out of Mustafa, I’ll 
155 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

wager. Remember the magic verse that brought us 
here? Well, every time an Un came near I said: 

“ Udge! Budge I 
Go to Mudge! 

Udger budger, 

You’re a Mudger! ” 

“ Marvelous! ” sighed the Cowardly Lion. “ But how 
did you think of it so quick?” 

“I had to,” replied Notta modestly. “You see, when 
there’s nothing else to do I think, and not thinking very 
often makes me do it rather well. But do you suppose 
the other Uns will come back?” 

The Cowardly Lion shook his head. “ Not in an ’un- 
dred years,” he yawned. “And now that they are 
good and frightened let’s all get some sleep.” 

The Cowardly Lion was bruised and ruffled, and so 
tired he could not keep his eyes open another minute. 
Stretching himself beside Bob, who had not even heard 
the battle, he fell instantly into a heavy slumber. Notta, 
lying on the other side of the little boy, was soon enjoy¬ 
ing the rest of the dreams in his silver package. 

Towards morning faint cries aroused the Cowardly 
Lion. Though only half awake he sprang up blinking 
his eyes nervously. Then he gave a howl of dismay, for 
Notta and Bob were nowhere to be seen! 

156 




CHAPTER 12 

Saved by a Flyaboutabus 

G ROANING because he had been foolish enough to 
trust the Uns, the Cowardly Lion ran up and 
down the edge of the skyle. There was no doubt about 
it, Bob and Notta had been pushed off while he was 
asleep. Then a tree, jutting far over the edge, 
attracted his attention. It was swaying and trembling 
in a most unusual fashion. At the same time the faint 
157 


The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


cries that had awakened him were repeated. With a 
frightened gulp, the lion saw the two fishing lines tied 
to the tree and, winding his tail firmly around the slim 
trunk, began pulling up the first of the lines. It was 
hard work and two or three times he was almost drawn 
over the edge, but he never hesitated, and presently he 
had dragged Notta safely back to land. The clown 
waved his hands feebly, then lay on his stomach and 
panted like a fish. Without waiting to restore him, the 
Cowardly Lion began to pull up the other line, and pres¬ 
ently Bob, also breathless and panting, lay beside the 
clown. They were not only breathless, but quite wet— 
having fallen into a cloud. The lion, puffing a little him¬ 
self, watched anxiously. Notta, with a long and final 
gasp, sat up and gave a little sigh of relief. 

“That makes the second time you’ve saved my life,” 
said Notta faintly. 

“What happened?” asked the Cowardly Lion. 

“Well, first,” said the clown, talking in little jerks 
and pausing every few minutes to pat Bob on the back, 
“ first, I fell asleep, then, I fell awake. And if it hadn’t 
been for these disguises I should have been cut in two.” 

“The Uns?” asked the lion, opening his eyes very 
wide. 

“Yes,” said Notta, and told how the Featherheads 

158 



Chapter Twelve 


had pushed both Bob and himself from the skyle and, 
without stopping to notice that they were tied or to 
touch the Cowardly Lion, had run oft without making 
a sound. “It was a mighty good thing we were anchored, 
eh, Bob, my boy? Feel better?” 

Bob shook his head uncertainly, for he was still 
frightened and dizzy from swinging through the air. 

The stars had faded out and the sun had not yet risen 
and in the cold gray mist of early morning the three 
huddled together and tried to think what to do. 

“First, let’s get away from the edge,” shuddered the 
Cowardly Lion. Cutting the fishing lines that had 
saved their lives, Notta set Bob on the Cowardly Lion’s 
back and they moved slowly in the half darkness to¬ 
ward the center of the skyle. The Uns evidently had 
gone oft to their homes, and with some matches Notta 
had tucked under his wonderful belt they kindled a lit¬ 
tle fire and soon were dry and much more cheerful. Bob 
immediately went to sleep, but Notta and the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion kept watch. 

For an hour there was not a sound. Then the noise 
of someone sawing wood came distinctly through the 
still air. Leaving the Cowardly Lion on guard, Notta 
went to investigate. He tiptoed along quietly, resolved 
if it were an Un to wish him away to Mudge. As he 
159 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


advanced the sawing grew louder and louder and, peer¬ 
ing around a large tree, he saw a huge and ridiculous 
bird flopped over against a rock, snoring at a great rate. 

As Notta looked the bird opened one eye, stamped 
its big claws fretfully, and immediately fell to snoring 
again. The clown took off his cap, scratched his ear and 
then burst into a loud peal of laughter, which he could 
not have helped had he died the next minute. The bird 
stopped snoring instantly, and opened both eyes. 

“What do you mean by waking me when I was sound 
asleep,” it chirped crossly. 

“A great many sounds of sleep,” corrected Notta, 
winking at the singular creature. “I thought someone 
was sawing down a tree.” 

“Did you?” The bird looked rather proud and be¬ 
gan to puff out its feathers. “I’m the loudest snorer 
in the sky,” it announced, strutting about self-con- 
ciously. “ That’s why my beak curls in this convenient 
fashion.” 

It was the bird’s beak that had made Notta laugh in 
the first place. It was long and blue, and curved so 
that it could fit over the comical creature’s ear like a 
personal telephone connection. 

“But why does it curl?” asked Notta, sitting down 
and staring at the bird intently. 

160 








































Fi 





















Chapter Twelve 


“So I can hear myself snore,” replied the bird. “As 
soon as I snore in my own ear I wake up and stop 
snoring.” With its claw the Snorer adjusted its beak, 
much as one would adjust a pair of spectacles, and 
looked blandly at Notta. “I’m unusual—don’t you 
think?” 



“Unusual,” whistled the Clown. “I’ll say you are! 
And never have I seen such a country. Why, if I could 
take along a few of these freaks, I’d have the finest 
show on earth.” He rubbed his forehead thoughtfully 
as he thought of the Mudgers, the Half-Lion, and now 
161 







The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

this bewildering bird. 

Snorer was about the size of a small child, with 
enormous feet, short legs and pink feathers. His head 
was somewhat like that of a large crane, and his eyes 
were as blue as his beak. 

“Why are you on the Isle of Un?” asked Notta, as 
the creature continued to look solemnly at him. 

“Because I’m unusual,” said the bird with a tri¬ 
umphant little hop. “But why are you here 1 ?” 

“Because I’m unlucky, I guess,” sighed the clown 
ruefully. “Won’t you come along and meet my 
friends?” 

“Yes, I’ll come with you,” said the bird calmly. It 
put its head on one side and looked at Notta. “You’re 
beautiful,” it sighed tremulously, “beautifully beau¬ 
tiful. I love you!” 

Notta had all he could do to keep from laughing, but 
seeing that Snorer was really in earnest, he patted it 
awkwardly on the head, and started back, the bird hop¬ 
ping happily beside him. 

“What’s this you’ve caught?” asked the Cowardly 
Lion, blinking suspiciously at Notta’s odd companion. 
As for Bob, who had wakened a moment before, he gave 
a little shout of laughter. 

“It’s because I’m so unusual,” whispered Snorer, 
162 




Chapter Twelve 


putting up a claw and winking at Notta. “Tell them 
my name’s Nickadoodle.” 

So Notta gravely introduced Nick to Bob and the 
Cowardly Lion and, after Nick carefully explained his 
queer telephone nose, the four regarded one another 
with deep interest. 

“Maybe you can tell us the way to escape from Un,” 
suggested the Cowardly Lion in a rather choked voice, 
for every time he looked at Nick, he felt like roaring. 
Before Snorer could answer, Bob, who had been star¬ 
ing fixedly at the Cowardly Lion, burst out laughing. 

“What’s the matter?” demanded the Cowardly Lion 
gruffly. 

“What’s the matter?” asked Notta. Then he too 
clipped his hand to his mouth and began to rock back¬ 
ward and forward. “Feathers!” gasped the clown, 
“You’ve a big bunch of blue feathers in your mane!” 

“What?” roared the Cowardly Lion, angrily putting 
bis paw to his head. 

“ Oh, everyone grows feathers in Un,” chirped Nick 
cheerily, hopping toward Bob. “Take off your cap and 
see.” 

Snatching off his hat Bob ran his fingers hastily 
through his hair. Horrors! Right at the crown of his 
head were at least ten stiff red feathers. Notta had as 
163 




The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


many green ones, but his hung down over his right eye 
when he took off his cap. The desire to laugh at 
Snorer suddenly left them. To laugh at someone who 
was funny was one thing, but to be funny yourself— 
well, that was different! 


“You’ll soon have as many feathers as I have,” 
chuckled Nick, regarding them with his head on one 
side. “ I think they’re quite becoming! ” 

“Becoming!” screamed the Cowardly Lion. “Well, 
they’ll be coming out by the roots. It’s bad enough to 
be chicken hearted, but being feather headed, I simply 
164 





Chapter Twelve 


will not stand!” He gave the bunch of feathers a furi¬ 
ous tweak, but he might as well have tried to pull off 
his ears. 

“We’ve got to get off this skyland,” blustered the 
poor lion, stamping around in a fury. “I’ll jump off 
before I grow another feather.” 

Bob was thinking that his would come in mighty 
handy for playing Indian. 

“I suppose we’ll soon grow enough to fly off,” said 
Notta, blowing the green feathers out of his eye and 
pushing them back under his chap. “I say, Nicka- 
doodle, can’t you tell us a way out of this?” 

“I’ll tell you one thing,” murmured the great bird, 
nestling close to Notta. “You’re beautiful, beau-ti- 
ful!” He rolled his eyes rapturously. 

“Well, if you don’t want my beauty broken to pieces 
tell us a way to escape,” begged the clown, looking 
nervously toward the edge of the skyland. 

“There’s only one way for you to leave,” said Snorer, 
“ and that is in the royal Flyaboutabus.” 

“What is it?” choked Notta. 

“Where is it?” roared the Cowardly Lion. 

“Tied to a tree near the palace. But we’ll have to 
wait till the Uns go to wish,” replied Nick, rubbing his 
head against Notta’s knee. And while the three lis- 
165 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


tened in amazement Snorer told them a bit about life 
on the Isle of Un. No one on Un, explained Nick 
gravely, ever worked, but each morning they went reg¬ 
ularly to wish, and nothing was allowed to interrupt 
their wishing. For three hours they shouted their 
wishes as loudly as they could, and I-wish-I-was, be¬ 
cause he could wish faster and shout louder than any 
of the rest, had been made king. 

“You’ll hear them at it soon,” said Snorer, adjusting 
his nose, “and that’s the best time for you to leave. 
Afternoons they fish and evenings they fight. Wish, 
fish and fight—that’s the program here.” 

“But how do they get anything done?” asked Notta, 
standing on his head to settle his feathers. 

“They don’t,” replied Snorer calmly. “Everything 
is undone; and about your feathers,” he pointed his 
claw at the Cowardly Lion’s mane, “every time any¬ 
thing unish happens to you you’ll grow another. First 
you were unwise to come here. That accounts for one; 
then you were uncomfortable and unsafe.” 

“Unlucky, unhappy and unfed!” spluttered the 
clown, turning a somersault with each word. “Lead 
us to the Flyaboutabus, old fellow, or we’ll soon be as 
feathered as geese.” 

“All right,” chirped Nickadoodle obligingly, “but 
166 



Chapter Twelve 


step softly and do just as I tell you.” 

“Aren’t there any good Uns?” asked Bob with a lit¬ 
tle sigh. 

“ Well, there was one,” Nick paused to adjust his nose, 
which was continually falling off its hook, “but I’ve 
forgotten his name, and the others treated him so un¬ 
kindly that he’s hidden himself in a cave somewhere on 
the skyle. But they do say if he ever becomes king, the 
Uns will all have to reform.” 

Bob was hungry and far from rested, but as he 
stumbled along the rocky beach he fell to thinking 
about this good Un and wishing he might see him be¬ 
fore they left the skyland. But Notta was so cheered 
at the thought of leaving TTn that every few seconds 
he sprang into the air or somersaulted over the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion. The Cowardly Lion was dreadfully down¬ 
hearted. The feathers preyed on his mind, his ears 
drooped and his tail dragged and nothing Notta could 
say made him feel any better. 

“It’s all very well for you and Bob. You can wear 
hats and hide your feathers, but a lion in a hat would 
look as ridiculous as a lion with feathers. I shall be 
the laughing stock of Oz,” groaned the poor beast. 

“Well, it’s not so bad to make people laugh,” com¬ 
forted Notta. “ That is my business, and I know. Come 
16T 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

with me to America and your fortune will be made.” 
But the Cowardly Lion only shook his head and padded 
sadly over the rough stones. 

“This is a punishment,” thought the poor lion, “a 
punishment for my wickedness in planning to devour 
a brave man.” And perhaps he was right. 

By this time they were so near the palace that Nick 
held up his claw for silence. Hiding behind a huge 
rock, they watched the Uns climb down from their tree 
houses and hurry off to wish, just as sensible folk hurry 
off to work. “Too bad I didn’t send I-wish-I-was to 
Mudge,” whispered Notta. 

“Hush,” said Nickadoodle. “As soon as you hear an 
ear-full of noise run for that third juniper tree.” He 
pointed out the tree with his claw and the three watch¬ 
ers waited anxiously for the signal. Soon there was 
not an Un in sight and a second later a perfect explosion 
of screeches rent the air. It was, as Notta explained 
afterward, an elephant ear-full of noise, for every Un 
on the skyle was wishing at the top of his lungs. 

As soon as they had recovered from the first shock, 
Notta, Bob and the Cowardly Lion rushed toward the 
juniper tree. Nick had flown ahead and was already 
calling down directions when they reached it. 

From the top branch of the juniper tree the king’s 
168 



Chapter Twelve 

feathery Flyaboutabus was tugging merrily at its rope. 
Following Nick’s instructions, Notta climbed to the top 
of the tree and, hanging on to the rope, managed to 
bring it down a bit. Nick, bidding Bob catch him 
around the neck, flew up next, and their weight brought 



it down still further. It was still terribly high for the 
Cowardly Lion, who could not very well climb the tree. 

“Hurry! Hurry!” croaked Nick, flapping his wings 
warningly. “There’s an TJn.” And sure enough, a 
tardy Featherhead was staring at them in astonish¬ 
ment from the door of his tree house. With an ear split- 
169 






The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


ting squall, lie fell down the ladder and rushed off to 
the wishing place to tell the others. Prickling with 
terror, the Cowardly Lion made spring after spring, 
but each time he just missed the Flyaboutabus. And 
every time he made an unsuccessful leap, another 
feather sprouted gaily in his mane. “ Better cut loose 
and leave him,” whispered Nick anxiously, but Notta 
and Bob hushed him up indignantly and by jumping 
tried to bring the bus lower. 

“Go on and save yourselves,” coughed the lion after 
the tenth attempt. He mopped his forehead dejectedly 
with his tail, and growled terribly as each feather 
pricked through. A shout from the clown made him 
turn. Rushing toward them in tumbling waves of fury 
were the Uns, led by I-wish-I-was. In a last despair¬ 
ing frenzy, the Cowardly Lion hurled himself into the 
air, and this time his front paws caught the feather 
wheels of the bus, and Bob and Notta, pulling together, 
helped him aboard. There was not a minute to lose, 
for the Uns were already surrounding the tree. Just 
as I-wish-I-was sprang into the lower branches, Snorer 
cut the rope with his knifelike beak and up sailed the 
Flyaboutabus like a balloon released from its string. 
Up, up, up they went, till the wild screams of the Uns 
could no longer be heard. Up, up, and ’round and 
170 



Chapter Twelve 


’round, plunging now this way and now that, till Notta, 
Bob and the Cowardly Lion were too shaken and dizzy 
to know or care what was happening. 

But Snorer, more used to flying than the others, kept 
his head and, waiting his opportunity, seized a long 
lever that swung loosely to and fro in the front of the 
bus. He had never been in the Flyaboutabus before, 
but something told him that the lever must guide the 
movements of the strange vehicle. Sure enough, as 
soon as he took hold of it, the darting about stopped 
and it flew quite steadily. 

“Are we still going up?” quavered Notta, without 
opening his eyes. The clown lay flat on his back in the 
bottom of the bus with Bob sprawled on top of him. The 
Cowardly Lion had become wedged under a seat and 
was heaving and puffing unhappily. 

“ Yes, but there’s some way to bring it down,” chirped 
Nick. “ Come have a look. I know how to fly myself, 
but I don’t know how to fly a Flyaboutabus.” 


in 




CHAPTER 13 

Mustafa’s Blue Magic 

N OTTA rose unsteadily and lifted Bob into one of 
the side seats. Then he staggered over to the 
front of the bus and, holding his head with one hand, 
peered down at the gear and machinery. There was a 
row of buttons under the steering wheel and the first 
button said “Slower.” Notta hastily pushed this one 
and the great feather wheels on each side immediately 
172 




Chapter Thirteen 

slackened their frantic whirling, and while Nick held 
the lever Notta investigated their strange flying ma¬ 
chine still further. It was shaped like an immense 
hollowed-out goose, with seats on each side and a high 
seat near the head. The head turned with the steer¬ 



ing wheel and honked loudly when you pushed the but¬ 
ton marked “ Blow.” The tail of the goose moved from 
side to side, and the four powerful wheels whirled 
around continuously, so that the noise, when the bus 
flew swiftly, was terrific. Now, however, it was run¬ 
ning more quietly, and Bob, no longer feeling giddy, 
173 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


began to look around with keen interest. 

Notta had pressed another button marked “Middle 
Air—Down,” and they were slanting gently toward 
the earth, floating almost without movement of the 
great feather wheels. 

“Isn’t this fun?” cried Bob, giving the clown a lit¬ 
tle hug as he sat down in the seat ahead. 

“Well,” chuckled Notta, “I don’t usually fly before 
breakfast, but I’d fly from Un any time.” - 

Snorer, who still held the lever, beamed over his 
shoulder at the clown. 

“Didn’t I manage well?” he chirped happily. “I 
say, when anything’s to be done just leave it to old Nick- 
adoodle.” 

“We can never thank you enough,” declared Notta. 
“But how will you get back? Will you fly?” 

“I’m not going back,” exulted Snorer, flapping his 
wings. “I’d be unusual anywhere and I am never go¬ 
ing to leave you, you beautiful creature.” 

“Then our fortune is made,” said the clown, with a 
wink at Bob, “for in a circus you’d be more than half 
the show.” 

“I’ll show them how to snore,” chuckled Nick. “I 
do that better than anything else. But I’d do anything 
for you, for I love you with all my heart,” continued 
174 



Chapter Thirteen 


Snorer calmly, “and the boy, too. And I love—” 

“Don’t you dare love me,” rumbled the Cowardly 
Lion, wrathfully jerking his head from beneath the 
seat. “I won’t allow it!” 

“All right,” sighed Nick, adjusting his nose. “I’ll 
try not to love you, but it’s going to be hard work, you’re 
so handsome.” 

“There! There!” interrupted the Cowardly Lion 
gruffly, but he couldn’t help looking pleased. “You 
may like me if you wish,” he added mildly. “Any land 
in sight?” 

Notta leaned far over the edge of the bus. “I think 
I see a village of some kind far down below. Here, 
Bob, you come help steer.” So, while Nick grasped' 
the lever to hold the bus steady, Bob sat in the high 
seat and turned the great goose head as Notta directed, 
now to the left and now to the right, and in less than 
an hour, they were floating slowly over a quaint blue 
city. 

“We’re still in the Munchkin country,” rumbled the 
Cowardly Lion, standing on his hind legs and looking 
over the side. 

“Well, we’ll just fly over this town and land in one 
of those fields,” puffed Notta uneasily. He was not sure 
he wouldn’t impale the Flyaboutabus on a steeple, or 
175 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

run over some of the inhabitants, if he attempted to 
land in the city itself. As it was they flew quite a dis¬ 
tance before he located all the buttons necessary to 
make a landing. The Flyaboutabus came to earth with 
such a bounce that they all flew up like rubber balls, 
while the bus continued to fly and bump around ths 
field until Notta ran after it and tied it to a tree. 

“And now what?” asked Nick, carefully putting his 
troublesome nose on its hook. 

“Breakfast!” wheezed the Cowardly Lion, rolling 
out of a huge bramble bush. “Aren’t you hungry, 
Bob?” 

Bob nodded. “But where are we going to get it?” 
he asked, looking rather puzzled. 

“One never knows in Oz, but if we look carefully, 
we’ll be sure to find something,” answered the lion 
easily. 

“Let’s make it a game,” suggested Notta, patting his 
figure in various important places to see whether his 
disguises were still safe. “Now then, all ready for a 
breakfast hunt. I’ll take this field, Nick can take the 
air and Bob and the Cowardly Lion may have the 
woods.” 

Bob smiled a little to himself. Hunting breakfast 
in the woods did seem ridiculous but, as the Cowardly 
176 



Chapter Thirteen 


Lion went poking his head in bushes and sniffing around 
trees in a businesslike manner, Bob began to look too. 
There were plenty of flowers in the woods, and for a 
time Bob found nothing else. At last pushing through 
a tangle of vines, the little boy found himself standing 
under a stout little tree that rattled curiously when the 
wind passed through its branches. There was a sign 
on the tree. Standing on his toes Bob spelled it out 
laboriously. Then he called Notta in excited little 
shrieks. 

“What is it?” panted the clown, breaking through 
the vines with the Cowardly Lion one leap behind him. 
“Are you hurt?” 

“No,” cried Bob, “but I’ve won!” He pointed glee¬ 
fully to the tree. 

“Travelers’ Tree,” read Notta, “planted by the Wiz¬ 
ard Warn in the year 1120 0. Z. “W ell, hurrah for 
Warn!” chortled the clown, and began walking all 
around the tree, while the Cowardly Lion sat down and 
panted a little from his long run. 

The lower branches were gay with many pink cups 
and on the next, poised over the cups, were the sauci¬ 
est little tea, cocoa and coffee pots imaginable. Higher 
up grew clusters of covered dishes of every kind. In 
the very top of the tree was a large nest of some sort. 

177 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


Snorer, who came flying back just then, declared it 
was full of eggs. Instead of leaves, the tree flaunted 
many bright paper napkin blossoms. 

“ Be sure to plant your dishes when you have finished 
eating,” directed another sign quite sternly. 



With a happy little chuckle, Bob picked a napkin for 
each, and three for the Cowardly Lion. Then Notta 
broke a coffee cup from its stem, and no sooner had he 
touched the cup than the coffee pot on the next branch 
tilted gently and filled the cup with fragrant hot coffee. 
The clown was so startled that he accidentally brushed 
178 









Chapter Thirteen 


off another cup, at which a cocoa pot poured a cup full 
of cocoa over his head before he had time to duck. Splut¬ 
tering and coughing, Notta drew back, but that was 
the only accident, and as the clown said, it saved him 
from washing his face. 

The Cowardly Lion drank a dozen cups of coffee, 
one right after the other. Bob had two cups of cocoa, 
and Snorer, holding a tea cup in one claw, sipped the 
beverage suspiciously, then flew off to find something 
more to his taste. Next, Notta picked five dishes of 
Ozish stew for the Cowardly Lion, a plate full of meat 
hash for himself and a chop and baked potato for 
Bob Up. 

Nothing could have been jollier than that breakfast. 
The Cowardly Lion forgot to worry about his feathers, 
Bob forgot he had ever been an orphan, and Notta for¬ 
got that he was lost in a strange magic country and in 
the power of the wicked monarch of Mudge. When 
they could not eat another bite, Snorer flew to the top 
of a tree and brought down dozens of eggs from the 
nest. Strangely enough, they were hard boiled and 
Bob filled his blouse with them, for as Notta said, there 
was no telling where they would be by noon. The Cow¬ 
ardly Lion now dug a deep hole and they buried all the 
dishes, which was lots less trouble than washing them, 
179 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


then back they went to the Flyaboutabus. 

Bob chattered quite gaily to Nickadoodle, but Notta 
and the Cowardly Lion walked along in silence. Notta, 
after the valiant way the lion had defended them from 
the TJns, could not bear the idea of betraying this 



strange new friend. Better a thousand times turn blue 
than have the kind-hearted Cowardly Lion fall into the 
merciless hands of Mustafa. 

“Perhaps the old Mudger’s ring will not work any 
way,” reflected Notta uncomfortably. “ Perhaps it was 
just a threat to frighten us.” If they could just reach 
180 






Chapter Thirteen 


this wonderful Emerald City and tell their story to 
Dorothy, everything would turn out happily. And that, 
decided Notta, was what he would do. 

The Cowardly Lion, on his part, was thinking how 
terrible it would have been had he eaten Notta on that 
first morning of their meeting. He felt guilty every 
time he looked at the jolly, companionable clown. The 
more he thought about the Patchwork Girl’s sugges¬ 
tion, the more ashamed of himself he felt. Why it was 
perfectly unish, this idea of devouring a brave man. 
No wonder he had grown a larger bunch of feathers 
than Notta and Bob! If there was no other way to 
acquire courage, he would stay a coward forever and 
that was the end of that! No sooner had the Cowardly 
Lion reached this conclusion, than he, too, felt light¬ 
hearted and happy again and began to roar with ap¬ 
preciation at Notta’s funny antics and jokes. 

When they reached the Flyaboutabus, it was jerking 
at its rope as if it was anxious to be off, and so were 
they all for that matter. 

“Which way is the Emerald City from here?” asked 
Notta, turning to the Cowardly Lion. “I’ve lost my 
bearings.” The Cowardly Lion looked first north, 
then south. He knew they were in the Munchkin Coun¬ 
try, but their flight to Un had confused him terribly. 

181 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

“I think it’s straight ahead,” he roared uncertainly. 
“Let’s run along the ground for a while till we’re sure.” 

“All right,” agreed the clown and, calling to Bob, 
started for the bus. But half way he stopped in horror. 
Bob, though perfectly unconscious of it, had turned as 
blue as washday. At the same time Notta caught the 
Cowardly Lion staring at him fixedly. 

“What’s the matter?” choked Notta. “Am I blue, 
too ? ” 

“Not very,” faltered the lion, whose heart was in his 
throat at the awful change in his friends. 

Notta looked down at his hands with a shudder. “I’m 
as blue as the Danube,” he muttered unhappily. “ But 
that’s all the better. Why, a blue clown ought to be 
the greatest curiosity yet. Wait till I reach America 
with my new skin and feathers.” Notta went on try¬ 
ing to make a joke of it, but his voice shook a little in 
spite of himself, and when he tried a light double som¬ 
ersault an even worse thing happened. Halfway around 
he found himself unable to move, and there he stood on 
his head, powerless to straighten his arms or legs. 

There was no doubt about it, Mustafa had taken off 
his magic ring. For when Bob tried to run to Notta’s 
assistance he was caught with one foot in the air. 

“Help, help!” croaked Snorer, flying frantically 
182 



Chapter Thirteen 



from one to the other. His nose came off the hook and 
hung straight down, but he never even noticed it. 

“Fly up a tree, can’t you!” roared the* Cowardly 
Lion, as Snorer flapped into his face and almost 
blinded him with his wings. 


With a quick spring he reached Notta’s side. “Bet¬ 
ter lift me down,” puffed the clown, for under the 
blue he was turning crimson from standing so long 
upside down. The Cowardly Lion obeyed, and placed 
him gently on the ground, where he lay as stiff as a 
statue. 


183 




The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


“It’s magic!” growled the lion. “Blue magic!” 

“It’s Mustafa!” groaned Notta, looking dismally 
at Bob. “I guess I’ll have to tell you the whole story.” 
In short jerks and gasps, for he could barely move his 
lips, he told how Mustafa had sent them to capture the 
Cowardly Lion and of how he had threatened them 
with the magic ring if they failed to obey him. 

“But you did disobey him,” breathed the lion, lash¬ 
ing his tail. “Even when you knew what would hap¬ 
pen, you made no attempt to capture me!” Tears of 
gratitude rolled down his nose. “You’re the bravest 
man in Oz,” he choked miserably, “but look what it 
has brought you to?” 

“Weren’t you looking for the bravest man in Oz?” 
asked Notta, suddenly remembering their first conver¬ 
sation. “ That’s how we happened to meet you, I think.” 

The Cowardly Lion nodded gloomily, for it was now 
his turn to confess. With many apologies and sighs he 
told Notta of his quest for courage and his determina¬ 
tion to devour a brave man, the bravest man that he 
met. 

“But you didn’t do it!” shouted Notta triumphantly. 
“And many a chance you’ve had if you had cared to 
take it. Cheer up, old fellow, there’s some way out 
of it.” 


184 



Chapter Thirteen 


Snorer with suppressed gurgles and sobs had lis¬ 
tened to both stories. Now he held up his claw. “As I 
understand,” croaked the bird, pushing his curly nose 
back of his ear, “Mustafa’s ring has turned black be¬ 
cause you have not captured the Cowardly Lion?” 

“That’s about it,” admitted Notta, trying to wink at 
Bob, but finding it impossible to move his eyelid. 

“Well, then,” sniffled Snorer with a little hop, “why 
not capture him? Wait, I’ll get a rope.” He flew off 
to the Flyaboutabus, first stopping to comfort Bob Up. 
“Let us meet magic with strategy,” cawed Nick, fly¬ 
ing back with a long piece of rope in his bill. 

“I’ll never urge him a step,” declared Notta firmly. 
“Not if I have to stay blue and still for the rest of my 
life.” 

“You won’t have to,” rumbled the Cowardly Lion, 
who was beginning to look quite cheerful. “I’ll run 
all the way to Mudge and give myself up to this ridic¬ 
ulous Mustafa. He made a little spring, but Snorer 
with a screech barred the way. 

“ Have you no sense ? ” shrilled Nick sharply. “ I said 
strategy.” He tied the rope hastily around the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion’s neck and placed the end in Notta’s stiff 
hand. And no sooner had he done so than Bob, with a 
little shout, ran over to Notta and the clown also found 
185 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


himself able to move about once more. While Nick 
and the Cowardly Lion watched anxiously, the offensive 
blue faded out, leaving Notta’s face white and powdery 
and Bob’s rosy and freckled. 

“ So long as you keep hold of the rope everything will 



be all right,” chuckled Snorer strutting proudly up and 
down, “for while you have the rope the Cowardly Lion 
is captured.” 


“Then we’ll just run double harness until we think 
of something else,” said the Cowardly Lion. “Tie 
the rope ’round your waist, Notta, old boy. Then you’ll 
186 







Chapter Thirteen 


be sure not to lose me.” Rather thoughtfully Notta 
obeyed, but be could not help thinking that being tied 
to a Cowardly Lion might prove awfully awkward at 
times. The Cowardly Lion, however, was in fine spirits, 
so Notta, swallowing his misgivings, stepped with the 
others into the Flyaboutabus. “And now that I’m cap¬ 
tured,” chuckled the Cowardly Lion mischievously, 
“what next?” 

“Oh, let someone else decide that,” yawned Snorer. 
Flopping down in the last seat of the bus he was soon 
sound asleep and snoring loudly. 



187 






CHAPTER 14 

Flying in a Deluge 

“ T ET’S find Dorothy,” shouted Bob. It was neees- 
sary to shout, for Nick’s snores rattled in their 
ears like a series of explosions. The Cowardly Lion 
and Notta looked doubtfully at each other. They were 
not sure that Mustafa’s magic ring would allow them 
to proceed toward the Emerald City. 

“We’ll try it,” shouted Notta. “Which way is it?” 
188 




Chapter Fourteen 


“I don’t know,” roared the Cowardly Lion. “Let’s 
fly up and look around till I see a familiar landmark. 
So Notta pressed all the buttons necessary to start the 
bus, and up they went with such a rush that Bob al¬ 
most lost his cap and the Cowardly Lion’s mane waved 
like a flag. Bob put both fingers in his ears, for with 
Nick’s snores and the whir of the feather wheels the 
noise was deafening. When they were about a hundred 
feet above ground, Notta slowed the bus down and ran 
it gently and evenly over the pleasant blue fields and 
forests of the Munchkins. Bob, slipping into the seat 
beside Snorer, put his nose, which had fallen off his 
ear, back on its hook. Immediately Snorer awoke and 
stamped his foot, but in a wink he was asleep again and 
Bob watched in open-eyed wonder, for snoring in his 
own ear wakened him about every three minutes, and 
when he wakened he stamped, so that between snor¬ 
ing and stamping the noise was worse than ever. 

‘I wish our friend was not such a loud sleeper,” 
growled the Cowardly Lion. “I can’t even hear my 
own heart beat. Say, was that thunder or Snorer?” 

“Thunder,” quavered Notta anxiously. “See how 
dark it’s growing! Let’s go down! ” 

“It’s raining,” cried Bob Up in the same breath. 
Notta touched the button marked “Faster,” and was 
189 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


about to press the one marked “ Down,” when a blind¬ 
ing flash of lightning zig-zagged across their path. 
The Cowardly Lion, with a roar of terror, dashed under 
the last seat of the bus, dragging Notta with him. In 
his clutch to save himself the clown pressed the button 
marked “ Turn,” so that the Flyaboutabus not only in¬ 
creased its speed but churned ’round and ’round till the 
four occupants were almost knocked senseless. To make 
matters worse, the rain came down in perfect torrents. 

Snorer, awakened by the awful clamor, put his wing 
around Bob and clutched the arm of the seat with his 
curling claws. Even so they were shaken up and down 
till Bob’s teeth chattered and nearly drowned by the 
storm. Notta and the Cowardly Lion in the bottom of 
the bus were faring even worse. Every time the clown 
scrambled to his feet, the Cowardly Lion, terrified by 
a new flash of lightning, would spring in another di¬ 
rection and, tied to him by the stout rope, Notta would 
be dragged along. 

“Help! Help! I’m drowning,” gurgled Notta after 
the eighth fall. A sudden flash of lightning showed 
Snorer that the Flyaboutabus was more than half f ull 
of water, and Notta lying entirely immersed. 

“Bob,” cried Nick, “can you hold on a minute by 
yourself?” Bob nodded his head and with closed eyes 
190 



Chapter Fourteen 


grasped the side of the bus. He did not dare open his 
eyes, for flying in a circle had made him dreadfully 
dizzy. 

Snorer sidled cautiously to the edge of the seat and 
with a little spring jumped on the Cowardly Lion’s 
back. The big beast was trembling like a runaway race 
horse, and the beating of his heart shook Snorer up 
and down. But holding on to his mane with one claw, 
he felt about in the water till his other one fastened in 
the belt of Notta’s baggy suit. Then he pulled with 
all his might till, dripping and breathless, the poor 
clown lay across the Cowardly Lion’s back. 

“ Climb on the seat,” directed Nick sternly. “ Do you 
want to drown the most beautiful person in Oz?” With 
shaking legs the Cowardly Lion obeyed, Nick holding 
Notta safely in place, and when they were both on the 
seat he begged the lion, with tears in his eyes, to con¬ 
trol himself. The Cowardly Lion, catching a glimpse 
of poor Notta, and realizing for the first time what he 
had done, wept with embarrassment. 

“This is what comes of being tied to a coward,” he 
roared dismally, “but someone clapped me on the 
back.” 

“It was a thunderclap,” chattered Snorer. “Just 
close your eyes and hang together, and Bob and I will 
191 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


do the same.” Hastily he flew back to the little boy, 
who was rolling and slipping around on the wet seat. 
Notta, wise from past experiences, fastened his arms 
tightly around the Cowardly Lion’s neck. 

“Divided we fall, together we stand,” he panted 
weakly. “If you’re going to jump give me a signal, 
won’t you?” The Cowardly Lion made no answer but 
just dug his claws into the seat and closed his eyes 
tighter. The wind whistled shrilly in their ears, the 
rain pelted mercilessly upon their heads and the bus 
tumbled and tossed through the air like a rudderless 
ship. 

Suddenly Snorer, who was less affected by the mo¬ 
tion of the bus than the others, felt water on his feet. 

“Somebody bail out the boat,” he shrieked in real 
terror, “it’s sinking!” And so it was. The feather 
wheels, wet and draggled by the rain, moved slower 
and slower, and the bus was now so full of water that 
every time it lurched sideways the luckless voyagers 
were submerged. It was like flying in a very deep and 
dangerous tub. 

“I never expected to be drowned in the air,” screamed 
Notta. “Shall we jump overboard?” 

“Do you want to be dashed to pieces?” shouted Nick 
in reply. “Hold on to the sides.” He called more di- 



Chapter Fourteen 


rections, but the fury of the storm drowned even his 
shrill voice, and each found he had enough to do to keep 
from being washed over the edge. The water rose 
higher and higher and the bus sank lower and lower. 
With eyes closed, and only their heads above water, 
the four clung grimly to the feathery edges. When the 
bus finally struck the ground it did so with such force 
that they all let go and fell back into the water. The 
Cowardly Lion sprang out first, pulling Notta along 
with him. Then, realizing Bob was still struggling in 
the water, he impulsively sprang back, seized the lit¬ 
tle boy in his teeth and jumped out again. A shout 
from Snorer made him pause. Notta was bumping 
along on the end of the rope like a big bag of clothes. 

“You’ve killed him,” wailed Nick angrily. But just 
then, with a watery sigh, the clown opened his eyes. 
Immediately he began fumbling in his chest pocket. 
“What are you trying to do?” screamed Snorer. 

“My disguise,” choked the clown. “I must put on 
my disguise—first disguise, then joke and run, you 
know!” 

“You don’t need any disguise,” wailed the Cowardly 
Lion remorsefully. “You look like almost anyone.” 

“I feel the same way,” coughed the clown. “Am I 
dashed or drowned or both?” 

193 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


“Neither,” croaked Snorer sorrowfully. “Only tied 
to a very forgetful friend.” The disguises, concealed 
in various parts of Notta’s apparel, were dragged down 
in disfiguring lumps about his knees. There were four 
bumps on his forehead and one was coming on the back 
of his head. Bob, though shivering and wet, was other¬ 
wise unhurt, so he and Nick helped Notta to the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion’s back, and, dripping and shaken, the air- 
wrecked party started toward a little hut near which 
they had fallen. 

“Where’s the Fallaboutabus?” muttered Notta 
thickly, as the Cowardly Lion stumbled over the sill. 

“I don’t care where it is,” groaned the lion. “I hope 
it’s busted. I’m against flying in all its branches.” He 
dropped panting on the hearth, and Notta did not even 
move from his back. The hut evidently belonged to 
some thrifty woodcutter. It was quite neat and com¬ 
fortable and there was a fire all ready to light. 

Bob, feeling very important, started a cheerful 
blaze, and though the rain still rattled on the roof, 
inside it was quite cozy and comfortable. Notta, with 
Bob’s help, took out all of his disguises, and the three 
that had already been used he hung out in full view. 
But the clown was so downhearted when Bob started 
to shake out the others, and seemed to attach so much 
194 



Chapter Fourteen 

importance to keeping them secret, that Snorer, with¬ 
out unrolling them, carried them into the next room 
and hung them on hooks to dry. Notta was quite thin 
and fallen without them, but when his suit had dried 
and he had powdered his nose with some of the wood¬ 



cutter’s flour he felt quite restored, and it was not until 
then that he discovered his feathers were gone. With 
a little shout he looked at the Cowardly Lion 
and Bob. 

“ We’ve all shed our feathers,” he cried exultantly. 
“They must have washed away.” The Cowardly Lion 
195 









The Cowardly Lion of Qz 


was so pleased that he jumped for joy, and started to 
run and look in the woodcutter’s mirror, upsetting 
Notta as usual. 

“It’s because you’re no longer unish,” explained 
Snorer wisely, as Notta scrambled to his feet and 
hastened to accompany the lion to the mirror. “When 
you both stopped planning unwise and unfair things 
the feathers just naturally dropped out, and Bob’s fol¬ 
lowed suit, for there isn’t an unish bone in that boy’s 
body,” continued Snorer, rolling his eyes knowingly. 
“And now that we’ve all decided to stick together 
everything will be as happy as possible.” 

“We don’t stick together very well,” sighed the 
Cowardly Lion, hanging his head. “Did I hurt you, 
Notta, old fellow?” 

“Not much,” said the clown, “but I’ll have to use 
more padding if you are going to be so impetuous.” 
Being tied to a Cowardly Lion was proving even worse 
than he had expected. The Cowardly Lion himself 
felt uncomfortable and ill at ease. 

“See here,” he rumbled, as they gathered round the 
fire again, “I think we had better separate. I’ll go 
on to Mudge and you three go to the Emerald City 
for help.” 

“No,” objected Notta, wrinkling his poor bumped 
196 



Chapter Fourteen 


forehead, “let’s stick together a bit longer, for I don’t 
know the way to the Emerald City, and the nine thou¬ 
sand nine hundred and ninety-nine lions might tear 
you to pieces before we got back. Traveling in this 
country is dreadfully uncertain. Why, we don’t even 



know where we are now?” 

“But the sun’s out,” cried Bob, running to the win¬ 
dow. “Let’s see if the Elyaboutabus is still around.” 
The Cowardly Lion started at once to run toward the 
door, but Notta, with a flying leap jumped on his back 
and thus avoided another fall. The bus was full of 
197 




The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


water, but the feather wheels, already somewhat drier, 
were slowly revolving. As they drew nearer the bus 
began to run ’round in circles, spraying water in every 
direction. 

“HI stop it,” volunteered Snorer and, swooping 



down over the wheel, quickly pushed the button 
marked “Stop.” Then Notta and the Cowardly Lion, 
shoving with all their strength, turned the huge bus 
over on its side so the water could run out. After this 
they went back to the hut to fetch the clown’s dis¬ 
guises, and then they all sat down under a tree and 
198 








Chapter Fourteen 


waited for the bus to dry. 

Just beyond a little fringe of trees they could see 
the roofs of a small city, and Snorer, sensibly enough, 
proposed that they run the bus into the city and 
inquire of its inhabitants just where they were. 
“Though as far as I can make out,” finished Nick, “if 
we move toward Mudge all will be well, but if we 
take any other direction this beautiful person,” he 
pointed his claw at Notta, “will turn blue.” 

“Begular signals, aren’t we, Bob?” The clown 
thoughtlessly turned a handspring, but the short rope 
spoiled it and the Cowardly Lion was quite choked. 

“We don’t twin very well, old fellow, do we?” sighed 
Notta. “But let’s see which is the way to Mudge, for 
it seems that to Mudge we must trudge.” 

Hopping on the Cowardly Lion’s back he waved 
him to the left, but at the first step both Notta and 
Bob turned quite blue. 

“Try the right,” suggested the clown, pulling the 
lion’s right ear. So the Cowardly Lion pranced to the 
right, but had not gone a dozen steps before Bob and 
Notta were bluer than ever. 

“Back!” directed Notta, swinging around and seiz¬ 
ing the lion’s tail. But their blueness only increased. 

“Straight ahead then,” cried Notta, standing up and 
199 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

waving his arms. So the Cowardly Lion obligingly 
trotted a few paces straight ahead, and as Bob and 
the clown promptly turned back to their natural com¬ 
plexions, they concluded that straight ahead was the 
road to Mudge. 

Bob could hardly help feeling pleased that it also 
led toward the strange city, for Bob was very curious 
about Oz and its singular peoples, and the little fellow 
was enjoying every minute of his adventures. Even 
the wreck and the thunderstorm had given him a new 
kind of thrill. 

“We must all think of a way to outwit Mustafa,” 
said Notta, as they took their places in the Flyabouta- 
bus. “But until we do I shall simply follow my usual 
rules.” So saying, he untied, for a moment, the rope 
that bound him to the Cowardly Lion and stepped into 
another of his disguises. This was almost the 
strangest of the lot. It covered him all but the feet, 
and in place of their jolly companion stood a huge 
goggle-eyed fish. The fish skin buttoned down the 
front, and Notta’s arms protruded under the fins, but 
he was unable to sit down. This, however, he bore 
quite cheerfully and, standing up very straight and 
stiff, seized the wheel of the Flyaboutabus, pressed 
the button marked “Go,” and away they did go in a 
200 



Chapter Fourteen 

series of bumps and bounces, for the feathery vehicle 
could not seem to keep its wheels on the ground. 

“Too bad you did not put on that rig during the 
storm,” chuckled Nick, hanging on with both claws. 
“ Then you could have swum to earth. But what good 
is it now?” 

“Just you wait,” promised Notta confidently. 
“When these people, whoever they are, see a fish 
walking about on dry land, they will do just as I ask 
them to. You see!” Nick looked rather nervous as 
he adjusted his nose, and the Cowardly Lion shook his 
head doubtfully. 

“But he cannot help his disguises any more than 
Nick can help his snoring, or I, my cowardice,” whis¬ 
pered the big beast huskily to Bob. Bob Up said 
nothing, but he always felt uncomfortable when Notta 
put on one of his queer costumes. The bus was 
bouncing and jerking so crazily that conversation was 
now impossible. As they came nearer and nearer to 
the strange city, it became at once apparent that it 
was unlike any city or town any of them had ever seen 
or visited. Even the Cowardly Lion, old Oz adven¬ 
turer that he was and accustomed to unusual sights 
and places, gave a snort of surprise as the Flyabouta- 
bus rushed through the glittering glass gates. 

201 




CHAPTER 15 

Mustafa Keeps Watch 

TVyrUSTAFA, seated on his blue throne, stared 
-tVA steadily at his magic ring. He had done little 
else sinee Bob and Notta’s departure, and in conse¬ 
quence was beginning to squint fearfully. On his lap 
lay the lion book, and when he was not gazing at his 
ring, the blue-whiskered monarch looked longingly 
at the picture of the Cowardly Lion. 

202 


Chapter Fifteen 


In one corner of the tent, in a large cage, crouched 
the twenty Uns Notta had wished into Mudge, and in 
the tent top were twenty blue patches where they had 
burst through. At first Mustafa had been terribly 
angry and ordered the Featherheads thrown to the 



lions. But Mixtuppa, pleased by the color and bril¬ 
liancy of their feathers, begged that they be saved, so 
she might always have fresh feathers for her turbans. 
Then the Uns, seeing that Mustafa was almost as 
wicked and bad tempered as themselves, promised to 
teach him all the Unish they knew—so that every 
203 











The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


hour Mustafa was growing unhappier and unpleas- 
anter. 

Panapee stepped about breathlessly on tiptoe, for 
each time Notta had done anything to turn Mustafa’s 
ring black the ruler of Mudge had flown at his royal 
chamberlain and shaken him unmercifully. 

“He is escaping, you villain!” screamed Mustafa the 
first time—that was when Notta had determined not 
to betray his faithful four-footed friend. 

“Help! Ouch! Does your Majesty expect to stop 
him by pulling my beard? Let go! Take oft your 
ring,” spluttered the unhappy Mudger, “there is no 
magic in my whiskers.” 

Realizing the truth of this, Mustafa snatched oft his 
ring, with what alarming consequences to Bob and 
Notta we all know. Since then his watchfulness had 
increased, and even while he ate he held his thumb 
before his eyes so that no move of the clown would 
escape him. While Mustafa kept watch, the royal 
jewelers worked day and night upon a gold collar, 
studded with sapphires, and the forger of swords and 
scimitars hammered early and late upon a heavy gold 
chain—for once the Cowardly Lion entered Mudge, 
Mustafa was determined he should never leave the 
kingdom. Tazzywaller, who was still lion feeder, peer- 
204 



Chapter Fifteen 


ing at intervals through the tent flap thanked his 
lucky stars he was no longer high chamberlain of 
Mudge. 

“When this Cowardly Lion actually appears will be 
time enough for me to be reinstated,” muttered the 
wily fellow to himself. “Meanwhile let Panny take 
his Majesty’s ill-tempered thumps and shakings!” 



205 




CHAPTER 16 


A Fall From the Sky 

“rriENTS and trapezes!” shouted Notta Bit More, 
as he tried to keep the Elyaboutabus in the cen¬ 
ter of the glass street. 

“I think we had better run straight through,” roared 
the Cowardly Lion, beginning to tremble slightly. “I 
don’t like the look of this at all.” 

“Well, whatever happens, try to remember you’re 
206 


Chapter Sixteen 

tied to me,” begged Notta, straightening his fish head 
hastily. 

“Then woe betide us,” sighed the Cowardly Lion. 

Nick put his wing around Bob and all of them gazed 
in bewilderment at this bewildering city. 

“Preservatory,” said a large sign just beyond the 
glass gates, and over the whole city hung a sweet, 
smoky haze. The houses had glass fronts and were 
more like cupboards than ordinary dwellings. Each 
had three stories, or as Bob Up explained later to 
Dorothy, three shelves. And on these shelves, swing¬ 
ing their legs, sat the oddest individuals in Oz. From 
head to knee they were enclosed in glass jars. Their 
arms and legs came through especially cut places, but 
these were carefully soldered so as not to let in any 
air. And their heads, somewhat flattened by the glass 
lids, had a squashed and foolish look. 

As the Flyaboutabus bounced merrily along the 
main street, they began to tumble off the shelves and 
run down the glass steps of their comical houses. They 
made no attempt to keep out of the way, so Notta 
hastily stopped the bus. But even so, one managed 
to get under the wheels and Bob shivered as the crea¬ 
ture’s jar splintered to bits on the glass paving stones. 

“Now you’ve done it,” groaned Nick, slamming his 
207 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


nose back on its hook. The jarred populace evidently 
thought so too, for they began hopping up and down, 
shouting all sorts of threats and abuse. The four 
travelers could only hear a dull muttering, for the 
voices of the creatures did not carry through their 



lids, but the visitors could tell from the dreadful faces 
they were making through the glass that they were 
being threatened and abused. The cries of the 
unhappy victim under the wheels were quite distinct. 

“Save me! Save me, or I shall spoil!” he cried in 
heart-rending tones. 


208 









































I 



I 








Chapter Sixteen 

Notta was so moved by Ms evident distress that he 
impulsively started to jump out of the bus, forgetting 
the tie between Mmself and the Cowardly Lion. He 
therefore got a terrible wrench that twisted Ms fish 
head sideways, so he could not see at all. While Bob 
was straightening tMs out, the jar-men dragged their 
companion from beneath the feather wheels, and a 
simply enormous fellow came running down the street. 
In one hand he had a pad and in the other a pencil. 

“Looks like the Prime Pickle/’ chattered Snorer, as 
the jar-man began scribbling on Ms pad. 

“You have broken the peace,” read Notta, as the 
angry official held up his pad. He was magnificently 
attired under Ms jar and was evidently a person of 
some importance. He had, however, been preserved 
by pickling and was of an unhealthy shade of green. 

Notta leaned out of the bus and, seizing the pencil 
and pad, wrote back, “He broke himself, save the 
pieces.” 

The rage of the Preserves, as they read these words, 
increased to a perfect fury. One, evidently a relation 
of the broken man, snatched off Ms lid and cried 
shrilly, “You’ll be minced for this!” 

The Prime Preserve again scratched furiously on 
Ms pad, “You are under arrest. Come with me,” 
209 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


directed the pad, when he held it up. 

“This is because I forgot the rules,” sighed Notta. 
“If I had been more polite this would not have hap¬ 
pened. Shall we fly or follow?” 

“Let’s follow,” rumbled the Cowardly Lion. “We 



can fly any time, and I’d like to see all the Preserves 
while I’m about it, for I think Dorothy will enjoy 
hearing about them.” 

Notta ran the Plyaboutabus slowly and carefully 
down the glass street after the solemn jar-men, the 
rest of the population following at a safe distance. 

210 



Chapter Sixteen 


Bob’s eyes grew larger and larger and when a pre¬ 
served dog ran briskly in front of the bus he gave a 
shout of glee. 

“I think Oz is the funniest place in the world, don’t 
you, Nick?” cried the little boy merrily. 



place else, I can hardly say. Look, look! There goes 
a canned cat!” And so it was, as canned a cat as 
you’d ever want to see. 

But right here their guide turned the comer and 
211 










The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


they found themselves in the presence of another 
Queen. They knew she was a Queen, for on the pad 
held up for their inspection the guide had written, 
“Preserva the Great.” Notta stopped the bus before 
the low glass throne and they stared in wonder at her 
Majesty. Preserva seemed as much surprised as they. 

“Well, I’ll be jellied!” wheezed the Queen, taking 
off her lid and thrusting out a moist head. Bob 
thought she need not have said this, for she was jellied 
already—her face and royal robes being a quivery 
and delicious pink. 

The Prime Preserve seemed very much alarmed at 
the Queen’s action and quickly wrote on his pad, “Shut 
your lid.” Bob considered this dreadfully disrespect¬ 
ful, and Snorer began to chuckle with enjoyment. 
Preserva quite meekly obeyed, but her eyes, behind 
the thick glass of the jar, grew larger and larger, and 
finally, snatching the pad from the Prime Preserve, 
she dashed off in great excitement these words, “A 
tomato can would be about right for him!” Holding 
up the pad she pointed joyfully at Notta. 

“Serves you right for coming as a fish,” chortled the 
Cowardly Lion. So we’ll have to take you back in a 
can. Well, well!” 

Then he craned his neck to see what else the Queen 
212 



Chapter Sixteen 


had written. A rapid conversation was going on 
between Preserva and their guide. One would write 
a message and pass it to the other. The other would 
snatch the page and dash off an answer, and so quickly 
was it done, the four in the bus had all they could do 
to keep up with the conversation. 

“ Pickle the boy, 

Can the fish, 

Mince the lion 
And pot the fowl.” 

commanded the Queen. 

“Now that’s what I’d call taking pot luck,” chirped 
Nick, balancing himself on the edge of the bus. 

But the Prime Preserve replied, “Why not preserve 
them whole for the royal museum?” 

While the Queen was considering this suggestion, 
Notta began feeling in the pockets under his disguise 
for a paper and pencil, so that he could get into the 
conversation, but without result. 

“No use being polite! Let’s joke and run,” puffed 
the clown, after an unsuccessful search. Leaning over 
the edge of the bus, he tapped the Queen sharply on 
the jar. Preserva dropped her pad and pencil and 
almost rolled from the throne. Inside the jar, they 
could see her jellied figure bubbling with fright and 
213 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

indignation. The Prime Preserve also trembled in his 
jar, then leaning down to read the last command of 
her Majesty, he ran off as fast as his crooked green 
legs would carry him. 

“Fetch the Imperial Squawmos,” read the Cowardly 
lion, with an amused twinkle in his yellow eyes as 
Notta tore off the page. 

“If we stay here it is plain we shall be pickled to 
death,” scrawled the clown, “so we bid you a fond 
but final farewell.” 

The Queen leaned forward, the better to read Notta’s 
message and, while Nick, Bob and the Cowardly Lion 
fairly rocked with merriment at her discomfited ex¬ 
pression, she suddenly unscrewed her lid. 

“Help!” screamed Preserva loudly, sticking her 
head out of the jar. “Help! Help!” Then back went 
her head and down went the lid, only to have the 
whole performance repeated the next second. This 
she kept up at regular intervals until the whole party 
were simply convulsed. But it would have been wiser 
had they, instead of laughing, looked behind them, for 
presently a terrible thump oh the back sent all the 
scales on Notta’s disguise to trembling. It was the 
Imperial Squawmos, followed by all the Preserves in 
the city. While a dozen ran to calm the agitated 
214 



Chapter Sixteen 

Queen, who was still quivering in her jar, the rest 
surrounded the Flyaboutabus. Most alarming of all, 
the Imperial Squawmos was not in a jar. She was, 
in fact, a huge and towering cookywitch with a pas¬ 
sion for preserving. And a cookywitch, I don’t mind 
telling you, is next in wizardry to a sorceress. She 
had put up the inhabitants of the entire city and was 
the real ruler of the Preserve. 

“A fish!” shrilled the Cookywitch, prodding Notta 
with a fork as long as an umbrella. “Ah, what an 
extreme pleasure. I have canned cats, dogs and 
people, but never a fish. And a boy,” she chucked Bob 
familiarly under the chin. “Spare the jar and spoil 
the child,” she quoted with a dreadful wink that sent 
Snorer circling into the air, where he flew uneasily 
over the heads of his luckless companions. 

“Off to the preserving kettles with you!” shrilled 
the Squawmos, and Notta, in real alarm, made a dash 
toward the buttons to start the bus, but the Cooky¬ 
witch brought down a heavy iron spoon, that she car¬ 
ried in one hand, and crushed the entire steering gear. 
The clown, seeing that escape for the time being was 
impossible, decided to go back to rule two and gain 
a little time by politeness. 

“Imperial and Imperious Squawmos,” began Notta, 
215 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


speaking somewhat stuffily through the fish head, 
“why are you so determined to preserve us against 
our wills, and why have you preserved these others?” 

The Squawmos immediately put down her fork, for 
she was terribly fond of conversation, and she could 
not very well converse with the Preserves, whose 
language at best was an indistinct jargon. 

“Strangers,” wheezed the Squawmos, “since I am 
to have the pleasure of putting you up I don’t mind 
explaining my little system. In a jar, barring breaks, 
you will last for years, and needing neither food nor 
drink will find it quite unnecessary to work. So you 
see, we put ourselves up here for the same reason most 
housewives preserve their fruit—to keep from work¬ 
ing.” 

“Put yourselves up to keep from working,” gasped 
Notta. “But I love my work!” 

“Then you are very different from most people,” 
observed the Squawmos, looking at the Cowardly Lion 
with great interest. “ But, never mind, you will soon 
be a perfect Preserve. And this lion—he will look 
perfectly handsome in a jar. Let me see, shall I put 
him up in vinegar or preserve him in spices?” 

The Cooky witch closed her eyes and Notta, winking 
wamingly at the Cowardly Lion, who was about to 
216 



Chapter Sixteen 


spring on the Imperial monster, cautiously moved his 
hand toward the only button in the Flyaboutabus that 
the iron spoon had not smashed—the button that said 
“Up!” 

The Prime Preserve saw him and made indistinct 
gurgles of protest under his lid, but before he could 
warn the Cookywitch or the Prime Preserva, Notta 
had pressed the button, and the Flyaboutabus, with a 
jerk that sent hundreds of the jar-men crashing to the 
glass pavement and knocked Squawmos head over 
heels, rose into the air. Snorer made a flying leap and 
caught it on the wing, so to speak, and in a flash they 
were hurtling toward the sky. 

Notta, jerking off his disguise, frantically felt for 
all the buttons, but they were hopelessly broken. 

“This continual flying about makes me light¬ 
headed,” groaned the lion, hanging on to the arms of 
the seat with both paws. 

“Where are we going, Notta?” gasped Bob, edging 
close to Snorer and peering giddily over the edge of 
the bus. 

“Up as far as it takes us, and then—” Notta shud¬ 
dered and clung dizzily to the wheel. And up they 
did go, faster and faster, until they lost all track of 
time and place and had not even breath enough to 
217 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


talk. Then, with a terrific crash, the Flyaboutabus 
ran into a small day star, turned completely over and 
spilled out the whole company. 

There, caught by its feather wheel, it hung on the 
point of the star, while Notta, Bob, Nick and the Cow¬ 



ardly Lion fell head over heels through the air. Nick 
caught himself first and, flying after Bob, edged him¬ 
self around until the little boy was on his back. Notta 
and the Cowardly Lion were falling together, first one 
and then the other on top, and Nick had to fly rapidly 
to keep pace with their falling. 

218 




Chapter Sixteen 


“Oh, my quills and feathers!” spluttered the faithful 
bird, “they’ll be shattered to bits! Oh, my tail and 
top knot! What shall I do? Bob I can save, but that 
beautiful clown will be broken to pieces!” 

Though falling, as Notta explained afterward, did 
give one a sinking sensation, it was not nearly so 
unpleasant as he had expected and, when he looked 
up and saw Bob safely on Snorer’s back, he fell more 
calmly, trying now and then to do the side stroke and 
calling encouragement to the Cowardly Lion. Earth 
as it came in view was not very encouraging and 
Snorer screamed with fright when he saw the rocky 
nature of the country into which his friends were 
tumbling. 

“Good-bye!” roared the Cowardly Lion, looking up 
mournfully at the clown, who was at that minute a 
little above him. “I’ll never forget you, for you are 
a brave man in spite of your disguises.” The clown 
was too affected by this speech to answer and, when 
he glimpsed the jagged rocks below, he decided that 
soon he would be disguised as a pan cake. So he 
merely waved to the others and closed his eyes. 

Like a flash Nick darted down and set Bob on a huge 
bowlder. Then, with wings spread, he flew up and 
down, intending, if possible, to break Notta’s fall with 
219 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


his own feathery body. But Notta and the Cowardly 
Lion never did finish their fall—for as they whizzed 
past a tall, craggy rock, jutting out from the side of a 
mountain, a stone arm reached out and miraculously 
caught the rope that held them together. 

“Scrags and scrivets! What kind of birds are 
these?” cried a grating voice, and down from the 
ledge stepped a roughly hewn man of stone. Swing¬ 
ing Notta and the Cowardly Lion easily in one hand, 
he came crunching toward Nick and Bob. 



220 







CHAPTER 17 

The Stone Man of Oz 

B OB put his arm around Snarer’s neck, and Nick, 
clapping his nose on its hook, prepared to fly 
from this new danger. Dangling from his end of the 
rope, Notta sighed mournfully to think he had not 
disguised himself, and the Cowardly Lion, after one 
look at the stone hand that held them, closed his eyes 
and began to tremble violently. The Stone Man was 
221 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

about three times the size of an ordinary man and 
carved out of a huge block of granite. His features, 
though rough hewn, were not unpleasant and Notta, 
after a few false starts, ventured a remark. 


“It was very kind of you to catch us,” faltered the 
clown. 



Stone Man frankly. “I’ve been watching you fall for 
some time, and I must say you’re the oddest looking 
creatures I’ve seen in a stone age.” 

As he said this, the Stone Man placed them on a flat 
rock that was on a level with his nose. An d as he 
222 





Chapter Seventeen 


could not sit down, he leaned up against another rock 
and regarded them inquisitively. 

“Come on up here,” he called gruffly to Snorer, 
“ and bring that little fellow with you.” Rather reluc¬ 
tantly, Nick flew up with Bob, and the four fallers 
tried to compose themselves and catch a bit of the 
breath they had lost on the trip down. The stone eyes 
of the Stone Man rested longest on the Cowardly Lion. 
“I like you best,” he remarked presently. “You’re 
better made than these others and not so likely to 
crumble. They look too soft to last long.” He poked 
his stone finger experimentally into Notta’s ribs, and 
only the clown’s disguises saved him from serious 
injury. 

“ Don’t do that,” growled the Cowardly Lion sharply. 

“What a lovely voice,” mused the Stone Man almost 
to himself. “Tell me, what are you?” 

“I’m a Cowardly Lion,” roared the big beast huskily, 
“ so don’t frighten me, for if you do I’ll pound you to 
pebbles.” 

“I don’t believe he could do it,” creaked the Stone 
Man, turning to Notta. “Do you?” 

“Well, he’s a terrible fighter,” admitted the clown, 
with a reassuring wink at Bob, “but let’s not talk of 
such disagreeable things. Since you were kind enough 
223 




The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


to catch us perhaps you will tell us who you are.” 

“Crunch is my name,” answered the Stone Man, 
picking up a rock and crumbling it to powder in his 
hand. 

“I think we’d better be going,” quavered Snorer 
tremulously. “We’re late as it is.” Nick had no 
desire to fall into the Stone Man’s clutches. 

“Don’t go,” begged Crunch. “I haven’t talked to 
anyone since I was excavated.” 

“How long ago was that?” asked Notta, scratching 
his ear. 

“Oh, several ages ago,” replied the Stone Man care¬ 
lessly. “But I’m much older than that, for I was 
hacked out by a primitive Oz man to decorate his cave. 
But a landslide caved in the cave and I was buried 
for several centuries.” 

“Who dug you iip,” roared the Cowardly Lion, “and 
how is it you are alive?” 

“A wizard named Warn dug me up,” explained 
Crunch in his scratchy voice, “and brought me to life 
with a shaker of magic powder. I tried to thank him, 
but he ran away before I could catch him, so I’ve 
stood around ever since trying to find out what one 
does with a life.” 

“Great Grandfathers!” choked the clown. “Fancy 
224 








































































' 





















* 



















































































































































Chapter Seventeen 


being alive for centuries and not knowing what to do. 
Why, there are hundreds of things to interest you, 
especially in a magic country like Oz. You could 
travel, and help other folks not so strong as yourself. 
You could offer your services to the Queen, or even 
build a city!” 

“ Could I? ” gasped Crunch. He stared off into space 
as if he saw himself doing all these things, and the 
idea was almost too amazing to believe. Then, bring¬ 
ing his stone heels together with a click, he announced 
determinedly, “I’ll do it! I’ll travel, I’ll help people, 
I’ll see the Queen and build a city!” 

“Hurrah!” cried Notta. “That’s the way to talk. 
And since we are traveling, why not join us?” 
Crunch, he decided, might prove useful in a battle. 

“Can I walk beside him?” asked the Stone Man, 
pointing at the Cowardly Lion. 

“If you’re steady on your pins,” rumbled the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion, “and promise not to fall on me.” 

“Where does the Queen of this country live?” asked 
Crunch, after he had promised not to fall on the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion. 

“In the Emerald City,” piped up Bob, who had been 
listening to the Stone Man’s conversation with deep 
interest. 


225 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


“ Oh, that must be over there,” said Crunch, waving 
toward the east, “for often at night, when I’ve climbed 
Stone Mountain, I’ve seen bright green lights 
twinkling in the darkness.” 

“Why, of course it is,” roared the Cowardly Lion 



in great excitement, “though why you have never 
gone over to find out I cannot imagine!” 

“That’s because you were never a stone man,” 
sighed Crunch solemnly. 

“Then we’ll soon see Dorothy and the Scarecrow!” 
cried Bob, clapping his hands. “ Come on, let’s go to 
226 





Chapter Seventeen 


the Emerald City right away.” 

Nick flew oft to the top of the mountain to investi¬ 
gate for himself. 

“You forget Mustafa’s enchantment,” sighed Notta, 
pointing sadly to the rope that still bound him to the 
Cowardly Lion. “I daresay if we took a step toward 
the Emerald City, Mustafa would ring us up again.” 

“Who is Mustafa and why has he enchanted you 1 ?” 
demanded Crunch, rubbing his stone forehead noisily. 
Notta explained as much of their story as he thought 
the Stone Man would understand, and when he had 
finished Crunch gave a little spring that almost 
knocked them from the ledge. 

“ Why, it is as clear as cobbles,” he roared, bringing 
down his fist upon a rock and splintering it to frag¬ 
ments. “You are weaker than I and, as I have fully 
determined to help someone, let me help you. Where 
is this Mustafa of Mudge ? Take me to him and I will 
pound him to powder and disperse him to the winds.” 

Before Notta could answer Nick came flying back to 
assure them that he had really seen the Emerald -City 
from the mountain top and that it lay scarcely a half 
day’s journey away. 

“Then it seems to me,” said Notta, who had been 
doing some quick thinking, “that the time has come 
227 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


for us to separate. Bob, Nick and I will hasten to 
this Emerald City and appeal to Ozma, Dorothy and 
the Wizard of Oz. Meanwhile the Cowardly Lion can 
start toward Mudge and thus Mustafa’s ring will not 
betray us. But before he reaches there we will have 
found a way to help him.” 

“And I will go with the Cowardly Lion,” declared 
Crunch promptly, “for I would rather help him than 
any one else.” 

“Hurrah!” cried Bob Up, and so it was all decided. 
Then Notta sat on the Cowardly Lion’s back and he 
sprang down from the ledge. Next Snorer flew down 
with Bob, and the clown untied the rope that tied him 
to the lion. Immediately he and Bob turned blue, but 
when the Cowardly Lion took a few steps south, the 
blue quickly faded out. Notta was so relieved to be 
free that he turned six somersaults, stood on his head, 
and ran several paces on his hands, while Bob and Nick 
shouted with glee. 

“Crush and crumble me!” rasped the Stone Man, 
eying the clown in alarm, “is that the way men get 
about nowdays? The men I watched in the stone age 
never did that and I simply could not manage it, you 
know.” 

“Don’t try,” begged Notta, and Nick hastened to 

228 



Chapter Seventeen 


assure him that most men walked in the usual fashion 
—one foot before the other. 

“Mudge should be exactly southwest from here, so 
come on, old Cave Man, let’s be moving. Together 
we’ll conquer the whole tribe of Mudgers,” said the 
lion. 



“You won’t have to,” cried Notta, giving the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion an affectionate hug, “if this Wizard of Oz 
is as clever as he’s said to be.” 


Crunch waited impatiently while Nick and Bob bade 
the Cowardly Lion good-bye. Having stood around 
for seven centuries, he could not bear to waste another 
229 




The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


second, and when the Cowardly Lion at last declared 
himself ready to go he tramped off joyfully, each step 
shaking the ground like a small earthquake and 
enveloping the poor lion in a cloud of dust. 

“Good-bye!” called Bob Up shrilly, as they turned 
into a narrow rocky path and disappeared behind a 
small mountain. 

“Good-bye!” roared the Cowardly Lion, bravely 
waving his tail in farewell. 

So much had happened since their flight from Un 
that Notta had forgotten all about the time of day, but 
when he started up the mountain, he grew so faint, he 
had to sit down on a rock. Bob, too, looked pale and 
weary, and every few hops Nick would close his eyes 
and indulge in a tremulous snore. 

“Great Elephants!” puffed Notta at last, squinting 
up at the sun. “It must be nearly five o’clock and 
we’ve had nothing to eat since morning. Have you 
still got those eggs, Bob Up?” 

Bob felt hurriedly in his blouse and, with a tri¬ 
umphant smile, produced the eggs they had picked 
from the travelers’ tree. They were somewhat 
squashed, but when the shells had been removed they 
tasted delicious to the famished travelers. Washed 
down with some water from a little spring, the food 
230 



< 


Chapter Seventeen 


renewed their strength and courage for the journey 
ahead. 

“I hope nothing happens to the Cowardly Lion,” 
said Bob, as they started up the mountain again, “ for 
I love him.” 

“So do I,” croaked the Snorer, who was flying a 
little ahead, “and I shall miss him very much when 
we go to America to make our fortune. But, of course 
I could not leave that beautiful person.” He rolled 
his eyes proudly at Notta, and the clown quite uncon¬ 
sciously sighed. Life in a circus would seem terribly 
tame after this marvelous trip through Oz. 

“We ought to be home to-morrow, if everything 
works out,” he remarked soberly, with an anxious 
glance at Bob. At the word “home” the little boy 
shivered slightly, for home to him meant a great, 
dreary institution where little boys whom nobody 
wanted were grudgingly sheltered and eternally 
shaken. In his heart he hoped the magic of this 
Wizard of Oz would not be strong enough to send 
them back. Notta was wondering to himself whether 
the managers of the home would trust a little boy’s 
future to a clown and resolving darkly that, if they 
wouldn’t, he’d take him anyhow. But he said nothing 
of this to Bob Up, and presently broke into such a 
231 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


comical song Bob forgot all about going back. This 
was the song: 

“ A goblin’s ears are very long, 

A goblin’s nose goes wabble, 

But wbat I’d really like to know 
Is what makes goblins gobble? 

Perhaps they gobble ’cause they’re imps — 

And dreadfully imp-olite! 

Pshaw, all they do is squabble hobble, 

Gobble through the night! ” 

“Speaking of night,” chuckled Snorer, balancing on 
the branch of a low tree, “we’ll probably have to spend 
it in that forest below, for it would hardly be safe to 
travel in the dark and it’ll be dark by the time we’re 
down this mountain. 

“Well,” laughed Notta, “it wouldn’t be the first 
time Bob and I have slept in a forest, and your snores 
ought to scare off any wild animals.” 

“That’s so,” sighed Nick, adjusting his nose, and 
quite satisfied he flew on ahead. The path was rough 
and uneven and, though Notta and Bob frequently 
slipped and slid, in another hour they were safely down 
the mountain. It was dusk as they stepped into the 
strange forest, and Bob fancied the trees were peering 
232 



Chapter Seventeen 


down at him kindly. They were so tired Notta paused 
under an immense maple tree and Nick leaned up 
against the trunk and fell instantly to snoring and 
stamping, while Notta began gathering branches and 
leaves for beds. The clown spread his old lion disguise 
over Bob’s pile and the little boy, stretching out com¬ 
fortably, gazed up at the first star twinkling merrily in 
the evening sky and thought how strange his narrow 
bed at the home would seem after this. The wind sighed 
in the tree tops with a gentle and soothing sound, and 
even Nick’s snoring seemed comforting and pleasant 
to Bob Up. 

“Bob,” said Notta, as he dropped down beside him, 
“ this is the friendliest forest I was ever in.” 

Bob nodded, and at this a little rustle went rippling 
through the forest as if the trees had actually heard 
him, and in the same instant each tree quietly opened 
its trunk and drew forth a fiddle. Before Notta and 
Bob had recovered from their surprise a wave of music 
swept through the wood, now soft, now loud, but more 
entrancing than any they had ever heard. And the 
trees, swaying and bending in the dim starlight, plied 
their bows with more skill than any orchestra in the 
mortal world. For Bob and Notta, you see, had come 
to the Fiddlestick Forest of Oz. 

233 




CHAPTER 18 

Notta’s Last Disguise 

O F all his adventures, Bob remembered this strange 
concert longest. The fairylike music, that even 
made the Moon bend down to listen, the drumlike ac¬ 
companiment of Nick’s snores and the misty faces of 
the trees themselves, bending down in the dim starlight, 
all added to the enchantment. Bob could not remem¬ 
ber falling asleep, for all through his dreams marched 
234 


Chapter Eighteen 


the music of the fiddles—but he must have slept, for 
opening his eyes suddenly, he found the sun out and 
shining merrily. He looked around to ask Notta 
whether he had dreamed about the fiddles or really 
heard them, but Notta was nowhere to be seen. Nick, 
too, had vanished. 

Rather alarmed, Bob jumped up. As he did so a 
large green leaf with white lines traced on it fluttered 
to the ground. 

“You may use the Fiddlebow Boat,” said the leaf and, 
looking up, Bob fancied the big tree was smiling at 
him. So he made a stiff little bow and, holding fast to 
the leaf, started off uneasily to find his friends. The 
sound of water rippling over stones took him to the 
left, for he was terribly thirsty and in a few seconds he 
had come out on a rapid little stream. The water was 
so clear Bob could see the white stones gleaming on 
the bottom. Throwing himself down, he took a long, 
satisfying drink. When he straightened up he was 
astonished to see a boat tied to a slim birch that leaned 
far out over the water’s edge. 

“ Why, this must be the Fiddlebow Boat,” cried the 
little boy, hastening over to examine it. It was of a 
smooth and satiny garnet, and exactly the shape of a 
huge, hollowed-out fiddle. It rode gaily at the end of 
235 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

its pink line, and this discovery only made Bob more 
anxious than ever to find the clown. Calling first Notta 
and then Nick, he ran back to the big tree, and just as 
he reached it was horrified to see a witch bending over 
the pile of leaves he had slept on. With a shrill scream 
Bob turned to flee but the witch came bounding and 



hobbling after, calling to him in pleading tones not to 
run away. But the more the witch called, the faster 
Bob ran, and he might have been running yet, had he 
not tripped over the roots of a tree and fallen headlong. 
In an instant the black hands of his pursuer jerked him 
to his feet. 


236 






Chapter Eighteen 


“Bob! Bob!” cried the witch remorsefully, “don’t 
you know me? Bob, it’s Notta—only old Notta!” 

“Notta?” gasped Bob, for he was entirely out of 
breath and trembling like a leaf. 

“There! There!” coaxed the clown. “It’s only one 
of my disguises.” As Bob continued to regard him with 
disfavor, he explained hurriedly, “You see we’re go¬ 
ing to this Emerald City, Bob Up, where every other 
person is more or less magic. Now, what attention 
would they pay to a silly clown? Why, they might not 
even listen to me. But if I pretend to be a powerful 
witch, Princess Ozma and the Wizard of Oz, whom 
we’ve been hearing so much about, will hasten to do 
what I say.” 

“You’ll frighten them,” said Bob stubbornly, but 
Notta shook his head. 

“People in fairy cities aren’t frightened as easily as 
little boys,” he chuckled knowingly. “And just look 
what I’ve found you for breakfast!” 

In Bob’s cap he had gathered nuts and berries of 
every kind, and Bob, seeing Notta was determined to 
go to the Emerald City as a witch, said nothing more 
but began to eat hungrily. After a hearty breakfast, 
Nick came flapping back and was so startled by the 
clown’s disguise that his nose fell off the hook with a 
237 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


crash. But Notta soon reassured him and, as Bob was 
tingling with impatience to show them the boat, they 
finished the berries in great haste. 

“ This is the friendliest forest I ever was in,” repeated 
the clown, viewing Bob’s discovery with delight. “This 
will take us out faster than we could walk and it’s much 
safer than the Flyaboutabus. Now then, all aboard for 
the Emerald City!” 

Gathering up his witch skirts, Notta leaped into the 
Fiddlebow Boat and, seizing the long oar, pushed it in 
close to the bank. Snorer alighted on the end, and Bob 
settled himself cozily among the cushions. Merrily the 
boat went dancing down the stream, propelled by Not- 
ta’s strong arm. The only thing that marred Bob’s 
pleasure was the thought of Notta’s disguise. But he 
determined to tell Dorothy, or the first person they met, 
that the clown was not a witch, but the jolliest fellow 
in the world. Somewhat comforted by this thought, 
Bob gave himself up to pure enjoyment. 

“Did you hear the fiddles last night 1 ?” asked the lit¬ 
tle boy presently. 

“Bob,” sighed Notta, “I did, and never heard any 
like it in the whole of my travels.” 

“It must have been my snoring you heard,” said 
Nick, preening his feathers busily, for he wished to ap- 
238 



Chapter Eighteen 


pear at his best in the Emerald City. Notta laughed 
uproariously at this and almost upset the boat. They 
all felt light-hearted and gay, and Bob was no more 
like the solemn little orphan who had fallen into Mudge 
than Nick’s snoring was like the music in the Fiddle¬ 
stick Forest. 

“I wonder if there are any other boys and girls in 
the Emerald City besides Dorothy?” asked Bob, after 
a little pause. “And I wonder if Dorothy ever heard 
of Tin or Doorways?” 

“You’ll have plenty to tell this little girl from Kan¬ 
sas, eh, Bob Up?” smiled the clown, and Snorer, after 
adjusting his nose, related all that he knew of the Em¬ 
erald City, which unfortunately wasn’t much, as very 
little news of the capital ever came to Un. 

“I hope the Cowardly Lion is having as pleasant a 
journey as this,” said Notta, as they skimmed along 
under the branches of the trees, “and I hope Crunch 
is behaving himself properly.” 

“I should think he’d be a hard person to get along 
with,” chirped Nick, giving the clown a nudge so he 
would be sure to see the joke. 

“Because he’s made of stone, you mean?” replied 
Notta. “Well, trust the Cowardly Lion to manage 
him. Hello! Looks as if we were out of the woods.” 

239 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

A turn of the rapid little stream had brought them 
into a broad meadow and the Fiddlebow Boat stopped 
of its own accord. 

“Guess this is as far as it goes,” puffed the clown, 
after vainly endeavoring to push it forward with the 



oar. So he guided it to the bank and they all hopped 
out. 

“But it doesn’t seem right to leave it here,” observed 
Notta, scratching his ear anxiously. No sooner had 
he spoken than a tall tree near the edge of the water 
leaned down, seized the boat in its branches, and passed 
240 








Chapter Eighteen 

it along to the next tree, and in a second it was being 
tossed lightly from tree to tree, much to the amazement 
of Notta and Bob. 

With wonders happening every moment, you would 
expect them to be used to it, but each time they were 
newly astonished. When the last trace of the magic 
boat disappeared, they struck out across the meadow, 
for already over the top of a little hill they could see 
the sparkling green towers of the Emerald City of Oz. 

Nick, hopping sidewise, paused every few minutes 
to see that his curly nose was safely on its hook. Notta 
began rehearsing long speeches he meant to make to 
the lovely little ruler of Oz, while Bob skipped between 
the two, nearly bursting with excitement. On the other 
side of the meadow they came to the yellow brick road 
mentioned by Mustafa. From the windows of the lit¬ 
tle green cottages scattered here and there, the inhab¬ 
itants looked at them curiously, and several of the 
quaintly dressed town folk whom they met on the road, 
at sight of a witch, took immediately to their heels. 
But without waiting to explain themselves or talk to 
anyone, the three hurried on to the gates of the Emer¬ 
ald City itself. 

Bob gazed with round-eyed delight, Nick began to 
snort with surprise, and Notta, who had seen in the 
241 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


course of his travels every great city on two continents, 
was struck dumb with amazement, for the capital city 
of Oz outshone them all in beauty and magnificence. Its 
streets of green marble sparkled with emeralds, and the 
palace, rising majestically from its flowering gardens, 
shone with splendor in the bright morning sunshine. 
The Guardian of the Gate was breakfasting in his cot¬ 
tage, and Nick flew over the bars and, turning the em¬ 
erald key, quietly admitted Bob and Notta. 

“Let us proceed to the main tent,” puffed the clown 
a bit nervously, for he felt ill at ease among so much 
magnificence. He had forgotten every word of his 
speech and, with a sigh, resolved to stick to his old 
rules—disguise, politeness, joke and run. “Though I 
see no reason why we should have to run,” he muttered 
uneasily, settling his witch hat a bit more firmly. 

It was still rather early and the gardens were 
deserted, but all at once Bob, who was a bit ahead of 
the others, spied a little girl in pink, sitting on the 
edge of a fountain, reading. 

“It’s Dorothy!” cried Bob, waving excitedly. “She 
looks just like a picture in the lion book! Come on!” 
Immediately Snorer spread his wings and flung him¬ 
self into the air. Notta grasped his black cloak and 
catching Bob’s hand started on a run for the fountain. 

242 



Chapter Eighteen 


The flapping of Nick’s wings made Dorothy look up. 
With a little scream she jumped to her feet, for any 
little girl, even though she is a Princess of Oz, cannot 
help being afraid of witches. 

“Help!” cried Dorothy, turning to run. But just 



then she caught sight of a gold bucket that always 
stood beside the fountain, and she remembered an 
experience she had had long ago with the wicked 
witch of the West. Water had melted one witch— 
why not another? Seizing the bucket, she filled it 
hastily at the fountain and, just as the witch, strange 
243 











The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

bird and little boy reached her, she flung its contents 
over the witch’s head. 

“Oh! Oh!” screamed Snorer. “You have insulted 
the most beautiful person in Oz.” 

Notta, taken completely by surprise, could do 
nothing but choke and splutter. 

“Wait!” panted Bob, for Dorothy was refilling the 
bucket. But he was too late and down splashed an¬ 
other bucket on Notta’s head, carrying away his hat 
and drenching his black wig. Unable to speak, Notta 
began to wave his arms, and this was anything but 
reassuring to Dorothy. Snatching a little silver 
whistle that hung on a ribbon on her neck, she blew 
on it shrilly. The next instant running feet could be 
heard on all the garden paths and in a twinkling Bob 
and Notta were surrounded. 

“What is it?” boomed Sir Hokus of Pokes, Dorothy’s 
Knight Errant. He brought his mailed fist heavily 
down upon Notta’s witch shoulder. The Soldier with 
the Green Whiskers, not to be outdone, grasped Bob 
Up and Tik Tok leaned over stiffly and seized Snorer 
by the neck. More and more people kept arriving, 
and though Bob tried his best to make himself heard, 
in the general confusion his voice was drowned out, 
and in disgrace they were marched to the palace. 

244 



Chapter Eighteen 


Ozma was having a quiet game of checkers with the 
Scarecrow and looked up in amazement as the com¬ 
pany burst into the throne room. 

“A witch!” shrilled the Patchwork Girl, dancing 
madly at the head of the procession, 



“ A witch, a witch. 

As black as pitch, 

Has come to steal your throne 
And sich! ” 

“If they would only stop screaming,” thought poor 
Bob, looking anxiously at the lovely little figure of 
245 















The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


Ozma of Oz. Just then they did, for Ozma, glancing 
in surprise and displeasure at the witch, raised her 
scepter for silence. 



246 




CHAPTER 19 


In the Emerald City 

“TT7H0 found this witch?” asked Ozma anxiously, 
* » for witches of any sort distressed the kind lit¬ 
tle fairy ruler. 

“Who found witch?” repeated Scraps, waving her 
cotton arms wildly; but at a reproving nod from the 
Scarecrow she subsided. Before Dorothy could an¬ 
swer, Tik Tok’s machinery ran down and his iron 
247 


The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


hold on Nick’s neck relaxed, much to his relief. 

“Villains!” squalled Snorer, flapping into the air. 
“This is a fine way to receive friends. I’ve a mind to 
pull out your beard,” he screamed angrily, beating his 
wings in the face of the Soldier with the Green 
Whiskers. 

“Run, Bob,” he cried, as the terrified soldier let go 
of the little orphan. Everyone was so surprised at 
Snorer’s sudden outbreak and his unusual appearance 
that they simply gasped. But Notta, realizing what a 
bad impression they were making, called pleadingly 
for Snorer to take his claws out of the soldier’s 
whiskers, and as Bob Up added his voice to Notta’s, 
Snorer let go and retired sulkily to the top of a golden 
cabinet. “They’re worse than Uns,” he muttered, 
stamping his foot. 

“I think there is no harm in the boy,” whispered the 
Scarecrow to Ozma, for he noticed that Bob made no 
attempt to escape. 

“Why do you travel in the company of a witch?” 
asked Ozma rather sternly. 

“He’s not a witch!” cried Bob Up miserably. “He’s 
Notta!” 

“Not a witch?” puzzled Ozma, wrinkling up her 
brows. 


248 



Chapter Nineteen 

All the celebrities stared suspiciously at their pris¬ 
oner, but as Sir Hokus had him firmly by one arm and 
the Tin Woodman by the other, Notta could not re¬ 
move his disguise. 

“The boy has spoken the truth,” quavered the 
clown. “If these gentlemen will let me go for a 
moment I will prove that I am not a witch.” 

“Don’t let go,” advised the Scarecrow, wrinkling 
his cotton forehead, “for she may bewitch us. Have 
little Dorothy tell her story.” So, while Bob fumed 
with impatience and Notta groaned at the delay, 
Dorothy told how they had come flying toward her 
in the garden. 

“But if it had been a witch, wouldn’t she have 
melted when you threw the water on her?” asked 
Trot, who had listened so far in silence. She liked 
the looks of this little boy and felt that some mistake 
had been made. 

“Call the Wizard of Oz!” cried Jack Pumpkinhead. 
This was such a reasonable suggestion Bob wondered 
how a pumpkinhead could have thought of it. As 
there seemed no way of convincing these interesting 
folks that the clown was not a witch, Bob gave it up 
for the moment and began examining them with close 
attention. 


24 9 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

Tik Tok simply fascinated the little boy, and he 
immediately decided that, next to Notta, he had never 
seen anyone more jolly than the Scarecrow. Even 
the Knight, now that he had his visor up, no longer 
alarmed Bob Up. And when the Comfortable Camel 
thrust his long neck in through one of the windows 
to inquire what was the matter Bob burst out laugh¬ 
ing in spite of himself. Right here the little, bald 
Wizard of Oz came bouncing into the throne room, a 
small black grip clutched in one hand. 

“If this person is a witch,” sighed Ozma, after the 
Scarecrow had related all that had happened, “she 
must be destroyed. Can you discover by your magic 
whether or not it is a witch?” 

“Certainly,” said the sprightly little wizard, laying 
out his tools in a businesslike manner. Snorer flew 
down from the cabinet in alarm. 

“Will it hurt?” he cawed uneasily. 

“If she is not a witch she has nothing to fear,” 
replied the Wizard, eying Snorer with amazement. 

The Wizard, sending for a tumbler, first mixed a 
pink and green powder together and then added a 
drop of red liquid that immediately set the powder 
to sizzling. When it bubbled to the top he flung 
the contents of the tumbler directly in the witch’s face. 



Chapter Nineteen 


Sir Hokus and the Tin Woodman ducked and Notta 
spluttered, but the fiery liquid trickled harmlessly 
off his nose. 

“It is not a witch!” smiled the Wizard of Oz, turn¬ 
ing to Ozma. 

“Then why do you pretend to be?” asked the little 
Queen. Her voice, though still stern, sounded very 
much relieved. Taking heart, Notta begged his two 
captors to release him. This they did, and the clown 
hastily tore off his wig and stepped out of the black 
cloak. 

“Why, it’s a clown!” cried Dorothy in delight. 

“I told you he wasn’t a witch,” shrilled Bob Up, 
wriggling away from the Soldier with the Green 
Whiskers and rushing over to Notta Bit More. 

“Well, bless my heart!” cried the Wizard of Oz, 
bounding down the steps of the throne two at a time. 
“This is a surprise. Sir, let me embrace you!” And 
as Notta made no objection he gave him several good 
hugs. “I used to work in a circus myself,” beamed 
the little wizard, “and I tell you a clown is a sight 
that makes me homesick!” 

“As to that,” said Notta with a little bow to Ozma, 
“this country surpasses any circus I was ever in!” 

“Can you do funny tricks?” asked Dorothy. 

251 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


“He can somersault, cartwheel, stand on his head, 
walk on his hands and he knows lots of songs—don’t 
you, Notta?” cried Bob, dancing with excitement. 

“So do I,” shrilled Scraps jealously, “and if he 
thinks I cannot stand on my head, let him watch.” Sir 
Hokus of Pokes restrained the reckless girl, and Ozma, 
tapping on the arm of her throne for order, begged 
Notta to explain his presence in the Emerald City and 
his reason for coming as a witch. 

“We are sorry to have treated you so rudely,” said 
Ozma gravely, “but we must blame your costume 
for that.” 

“Certainly,” said Scraps, shaking her cotton finger 
at Notta. “If you come as a witch you must expect 
to be treated every witch way.” Notta looked rather 
embarrassed as he explained his rules of disguise, 
politeness, joke and run. 

“I always seem to choose the wrong disguise,” 
sighed the clown. 

“Don’t you think it is better to be natural?” asked 
the Scarecrow in his jolly voice. “Especially when you 
are naturally so nice?” Notta was quite flustered at 
this charming speech. 

“First be nice and then be natural. How’s that for 
a rule?” cried Scraps brilliantly, and they were all so 
252 



Chapter Nineteen 


relieved that the clown had turned out so well they 
laughed heartily. 

“ Yer-ry good,” ticked Tik Tok, whom somebody had 
wound up. “I am natu-ral-ly bright be-cause I am 
nat-u-ral-ly cop-per!” 



“Well, after this,” said Notta, when the merriment 
had subsided, “after this, I will be myself, for I guess 
it is better to be yourself even if you are a clown.” 

“But how did you reach Oz? Who is this little boy? 
And do introduce us to your feathered friend,” begged 
253 





The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

the Scarecrow, who had been glancing curiously from 
one to the other. 

“This,” said Notta, drawing Bob close to him, “is 
Bob Up, an orphan from Philadelphia, and the bravest 
and best little boy in America.” 

“Hello, orphan!” cried Scraps genially: 

“ Orphan, orphan, howdedo, 

You love me and I’ll love you! 

First you’re here, then gone again, 

Do come orphan on again! ” 

A stern “hush” from the Knight silenced her, and 
Notta introduced Nickadoodle from Un. Nick im¬ 
mediately took the floor, and carefully demonstrated 
his telephone nose, which he explained had been in¬ 
vented by Uncle Billy. So, everyone, including the 
Scarecrow, came down and shook him gravely by the 
claw. Then, as they were all anxious to hear what had 
brought the three travelers to the Emerald City, they 
grouped themselves about the throne and Notta 
started to tell the history of his amazing three days 
in Oz. 

But just as he was explaining in a spirited manner 
their flight to Mudge, a bustle in the great hall without 
interrupted the story, and a breathless footman came 
254 



Chapter Nineteen 

rushing in to announce the arrival of Glinda, the Good 
Sorceress, who ruled over the Quadling country of Oz. 

“Something must have happened!” cried Ozma, 
jumping up in distress. 

“ Don’t be so previous, my dear,” begged the Scare¬ 



crow, himself falling down the steps of the throne to 
show how collected he was. But at that instant Glinda 
herself swept into the throne room. Twelve little 
maidens in lovely red dresses held up her long train 
and Bob Up, looking at Glinda’s beautiful face and 
lovely flame-colored robes, thought he had never seen 
255 








The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

a more radiant fairy. The courtiers and celebrities 
hastily made way for G-linda. 

Hurrying up to Ozma the sorceress asked anxiously, 
“ Where is the Cowardly Lion? Has anyone seen the 
Cowardly Lion?” 



Now, strangely enough, no one in the palace had 
missed their big chum, but at Giinda’s words they all 
began shaking their heads and looking uneasily at one 
another. 

“Why, I haven’t seen him for two days,” cried 
Dorothy, with a worried little frown. 

256 






















































Chapter Nineteen 


“We have!” cried Bob Up, forgetting for a moment 
he was in the presence of royalty. “We saw him 
yesterday.” 

“What’s happened?” cried Notta. “I see now we 
never should have left him.” 

“Why, do you know the Cowardly Lion?” asked 
Ozma in surprise, for Notta had not yet come to their 
meeting, nor even told them of Mustafa’s determina¬ 
tion to add the Cowardly Lion to his collection. 

So, as quickly as he could, and without stopping to 
describe Doorways or Un, the clown told his story. 

“Ah,” sighed Grlinda, as he finished, “that explains 
the entry in the Magic Record Book. Hurry up, my 
friends. Some of us must go instantly to Mudge.” 

“What did the records say?” asked Dorothy, and 
all the celebrities looked frightened and anxious, for 
the Cowardly Lion was a great favorite. The Magic 
Record Book is one of the treasures of Oz. It tells, 
just as they happen, all the events in that marvelous 
country and in every other country. 

“It said,” began Grlinda in her soft voice, “that the 
Cowardly Lion is in grave danger, and unless help 
comes before noon he will be destroyed.” 

“ Wha-aat?” shrilled Notta in horrified tones, while 
Sir Hokus of Pokes began sharpening his dagger on 
257 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


his leg and the Scarecrow fell on his nose from the 
very shock of the thing. 

“Where’s my Magic Belt?” cried Ozma, clapping 
her small hands frantically. “Jellia, fetch my Magic 
Belt!” Ozma, with this belt, meant to transport as 



many of the company as possible to Mudge. 

But before the little serving maid returned, Notta 
himself had accomplished that very thing. Glancing 
around hurriedly, he began touching everyone who 
looked as if he might prove useful in a battle. Sir 
Hokus vanished first, for Notta was very much im- 
258 







Chapter Nineteen 


pressed by the Knight’s warlike appearance, then the 
Tin Woodman, because his ax looked so sharp, then 
Tik Tok, because he was so solid and dependable, then 
Grlinda because she was a sorceress and the Wizard 
because he was also versed in magic, then Dorothy, 
because she was crying and Bob because Notta could 
not bear to leave him behind and then Snorer, because 
he had proven himself so faithful. 

Ozma, who had forgotten about the magic verse, was 
startled almost out of her senses by these sudden dis¬ 
appearances. She put up her scepter to object, but 
Notta ran forward and touched her too and she was 
gone with the others. 

“Help!” wailed Scraps, tumbling out of the window, 
and the rest of the company began backing into cor¬ 
ners. But the clown, now satisfied with his army of 
invasion, seized the yellow hand of the Scarecrow and 
repeated his verse for the last time: 

“ Udge! Budge! 

Come to Mudge! 

Udgers Budgers, 

We are Mudgers! ” 

In a flash they were in Mudge—every single person 
the clown had touched. And the sight that met their 
eyes was simply terrifying. 

259 




CHAPTER 20 

The Cowardly Lion's Peril 

T O understand how the Cowardly Lion made the 
journey to Mudge in one day instead of three, we 
must go back to the afternoon he started down the 
mountain with the Stone Man of Oz. Crunch, as he 
tramped along beside the Cowardly Lion, was thinking 
harder than in all the stone ages of his hard life. The 
Wizard Warn had given him brains of a sort, and though 
260 


Chapter Twenty 


they had not been used before the events of the after¬ 
noon had brought them quite suddenly into action. 

The mountain where Crunch had stood for so many 
centuries, while quite near the Emerald City, was never 
visited by anyone, so that the Stone Man knew very 



little of life as it was lived in Oz. Notta’s suggestions 
had aroused his curiosity, and for the Cowardly Lion 
he was developing a great fondness. As the afternoon 
progressed the Cowardly Lion grew positively embar¬ 
rassed by his terms of endearment. 

“You are the handsomest creature in Oz,” insisted 
261 





The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


Crunch over and over, “and if you were only of stone 
you would be more beautiful still.” 

“Yery still,” rumbled the Cowardly Lion, putting 
back his ears. “Though I suppose,” he added thought¬ 
fully, “a stone lion is never afraid.” To change the 
subject he began telling Crunch about his cowardice, 
and how he had started out originally to find himself 
some courage. 

“Would it make you happy to be afraid of nothing?” 
asked the Stone Man in his grinding voice. 

“Perfectly happy,” sighed the Cowardly Lion, “for 
though I fight when danger threatens, I suffer terribly 
from a desire to run away.” 

“Then if you had no desire to run away you would 
be perfectly happy?” asked Crunch, with a stamp that 
threw the Cowardly Lion off his feet. “ Why, I can eas¬ 
ily fix that!” 

“Do you mean to say you could give me courage?” 
roared the Cowardly Lion, stopping perfectly still in 
his tracks. 

“I know a trick to fix you so that you will never 
again be afraid,” answered the Stone Man, rolling his 
eyes from side to side. “That is one thing I can do.” 

“Who taught you magic?” rumbled the Cowardly 
Lion suspiciously. 


262 



Chapter Twenty 


“No one,” grated Crunch, “but this hard little secret 
was in the brains Warn wished into my block head. 
Shall I change you now?” 

The Cowardly Lion sat down and scratched his ear 
with his hind leg. He had lived long enough in a magic 



country to believe anything possible, but somehow this 
huge, craggy giant filled him with misgivings. 

“I’d like to think about this a little longer, if you 
don’t mind,” he answered cautiously. “Tell me more 
about it, can’t you?” 

Crunch shooks his head solemnly. “If I told you it 
263 





The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


wouldn’t work. Better let me change you, old fellow.” 

“No,” wheezed the Cowardly Lion uneasily, “I think 
I’ll wait a bit, I tell you,” he added, brightening up, 
“let’s not try it until this little Mudge affair is oyer. 
It isn’t quite right to think of ourselves when my good 
friend Notta is in danger. Help me first and change me 
afterward.” 

“All right,” agreed the Stone Man, starting stolidly 
forward, but several times the Cowardly Lion, glancing 
up unexpectedly, caught him moving his stiff lips and 
looking at him with such a stony glare that it sent a 
shiver of terror down his spine. 

“Now, see here,” roared the lion, planting himself 
determinedly in Crunch’s path. “ You must promise me 
not to try that trick till I’m ready. I’ve been fright¬ 
ened all my life and I don’t wish to be frightened into 
a courageous lion without knowing it.” 

“ Oh, all right,” grumbled the Stone Man again, “but 
I don’t see any sense in all this delay. What if your 
friends do turn blue? It won’t hurt them, and why 
should you put yourself in the clutches of this wicked 
old Mudger?” 

“That is my affair,” roared the Cowardly Lion, 
shocked at Crunch’s unfeeling words. “I suppose a 
person entirely composed of stone cannot help being 
264 



Chapter Twenty 


hard and unsympathetic,” he reflected to himself. Aloud 
he called, “Come along, let’s hurry,” and hurry they 
did as fast as their legs would carry them. 

A Munchkin farmer, whose cottage they passed just 
at dusk, gave the Cowardly Lion a hearty dinner, but 
he shook his head doubtfully at Crunch, who had 
propped himself up against a barn while the lion ate. 

“He’ll break something,” whispered the farmer 
nervously. “He’s too heavy to be walking about. What’s 
he doing alive anyway? Has Ozma seen him? Or the 
Scarecrow? Here, here!” he called angrily, as the barn 
began to creak and lean to one side, “you’ll have to lean 
against something else! ” 

“I’ll stand right here, and nothing will budge me,” 
grumbled Crunch disagreeably. At this the Cowardly 
Lion swallowed the rest of his dinner at one gulp and 
started to run down the road. He knew that the Stone 
Man would follow him and he did not want the poor 
farmer’s barn demolished. 

“I thought you were going to help people,” he roared 
reproachfully, as Crunch overtook him. 

“No, I’ve changed my mind,” announced Crunch 
with a terrible grin, “ I’m only going to help you.” The 
Cowardly Lion started to lecture the Stone Man, but, 
as he paid not the slightest attention, he finally gave 
265 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


it up and trotted along in silence. He was growing 
wearier every minute, and finally on the! edge of a lit¬ 
tle wood he stopped altogether. Night was coming on, 
and after the flights and excitement of the past two 
days the Cowardly lion felt he must snatch a little 



“ Crunch, old rock, will you keep watch while I get 
a little sleep?” he yawned. The Stone Man nodded 
impassively. He had watched men sleep in the long 
ago stone age and, though he could not see any use in 
this strange custom, he concluded it was another tire- 
266 









Chapter Twenty 


some habit of these creatures not brought to life by 
magic. 

With a long sigh, for he sadly missed his jolly com¬ 
panions, the Cowardly Lion stretched himself out un¬ 
der a tree and almost instantly fell into a heavy slum¬ 
ber. For a time the Stone Man stood perfectly still. 
Then he began to mutter crossly to himself. The idea 
of waiting until they reached Mudge to try his trick 
was not pleasing to the stony fellow, for after the 
change, though he had been careful not to say so, the 
Cowardly Lion would be absolutely in his power. And, 
with the Cowardly Lion, he meant to return to his lonely 
mountain and stand happily ever afterward. 

Already the thought of offering his services to the 
Queen and building a city had begun to bore him. This 
pounding about chipped his toes and jarred his gran¬ 
ite. Why had he ever made that ridiculous promise 
to the Cowardly Lion? But made it was, and a Stone 
Man can no sooner break his promise than his head. 
Kicking the earth up fretfully, Crunch tried to think 
of a way out of the difficulty. Just as the twentieth 
star came pricking out in the Heavens, he had an idea. 
Crunch, being of stone, never tired and could therefore 
travel indefinitely. If this Mudge business had to be 
got through with, then the sooner they arrived in 
267 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


Mudge the better. He knew that he could go three 
times as quickly as an ordinary flesh and bone man, 
therefore he ought to reach Mustafa’s Kingdom by 
morning. 

Snatching into the air a startled Munchkin shepherd, 
who was strolling along with his hands in his pockets, 
he asked him the way to Mudge. When the lad’s teeth 
stopped chattering long enough to tell him, he dropped 
him carelessly on the ground and picked up the Coward¬ 
ly Lion. The next instant he was running with all his 
might toward Mustafa’s dreadful desert, trampling un¬ 
der his feet any fences or small buildings that got in 
the way, and jarring the whole country with his heavy 
strides. The Cowardly Lion awakened almost immedi¬ 
ately and tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but escape 
from those mighty arms was an impossibility. 

“Where are you goingf” he growled angrily, the 
words being fairly jolted out of him. 

“To Mudge!” shouted Crunch without slackening 
his speed. “I promised not to change you to a cour¬ 
ageous lion till we finished with Mustafa. Well, now, 
I am going to finish Mustafa.” 

“Stop!” implored the Cowardly Lion, but he might 
as well have argued with the wind, and to continue the 
argument, when Crunch’s every step deprived him of 
268 



Chapter Twenty 

his breath, took the whole of his strength and determi¬ 
nation. But continue it he did, with roars, threats and 
rumblings. To these the Stone Man paid not the slight¬ 
est attention, and finally the Cowardly Lion was too ex¬ 
hausted and shaken to utter another roar. 

“There’s no use reasoning with me,” Crunch had in¬ 
sisted stubbornly, “for I am a hard mass of mineral 
matter. I will take you to Mudge because that I prom¬ 
ised to do, but as soon as we reach Mudge you will be 
mine forever!” 

The Cowardly Lion had not even strength to tremble 
at these awful words, so he closed his eyes and tried not 
to think about Mustafa and his nine thousand nine hun¬ 
dred and ninety-nine lions, nor Crunch and his terrible 
threat. It would be impossible for Notta and Bob to 
reach Mudge in time to help him now, so the poor Cow¬ 
ardly Lion resolved to fight as long as he could, and then 
bravely resign himself to whatever fate had in store 
for him. At every step of the Stone Man, he more ut¬ 
terly regretted the moment he had trusted himself to 
the company of this treacherous giant. 

Whether he fell asleep, or was shaken into uncon¬ 
sciousness, the Cowardly Lion never knew. The next 
thing he remembered was leaning up against an iron 
enclosure and hearing Crunch calling loudly for ad- 
269 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


mittance into Mudge. For the Stone Man had run, with¬ 
out turning so much as an inch out of the way, directly 
to the land of the Mudgers. 

The sun was high in the Heavens, and winds from 
Mustafa’s desert blew hotly in their faces. The Mudger 
Guard, hearing the terrible clamor, came running to 
see who was hammering on the gates, and when they 
saw Crunch and the Cowardly Lion they turned and 
flew toward their master’s striped tent. 

Mustafa, still gazing fixedly at his ring, hardly heard 
their terrified description of the stone giant. All that 
he heard was the wonderful news that a lion, undoubt¬ 
edly the Cowardly Lion of Oz, had at last been deliv¬ 
ered into his power. Calling Panapee, and running so 
fast he lost both of his sandals, Mustafa rushed out to 
the lion enclosure and with trembling hands unlocked 
the gates. Fortunately the nine thousand nine hun¬ 
dred and ninety-nine lions were in another part, and 
when he waved for Crunch and the Cowardly Lion to en¬ 
ter, they did so without disturbing Mustafa’s ferocious 
pets. The Cowardly Lion wobbled slightly, for he was 
still shaken by his terrible journey, but the Stone Man 
tramped defiantly toward the blue whiskered monarch 
of Mudge. 

“Welcome!” wheezed Mustafa, waving his scimitar. 

270 



Chapter Twenty 


Panny, with an outraged glance at the Stone Man, 
climbed the nearest palm tree. 

“I understand you wished to have me captured,” 
growled the Cowardly Lion, trembling slightly, but re¬ 
solved to go through with this disagreeable business. 



“Don’t say captured,” cried Mustafa slyly. “Let us 
say that I wished to have my court honored by your 
cowardly and perfect presence. I understand you are 
a terrible fighter,” he added, tugging at his whiskers 
joyfully. 

“ Shall I crush or crumble him? ” asked Crunch, inter- 
271 






The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


rupting Mustafa’s further remarks and ramblings. And 
then Mustafa for the first time became really aware 
of the Stone Man. The more he examined, the more 
horribly aware of him he became. 

“Panny!” he shrilled, looking all around for his chief 
chamberlain, “Panny, call out the Guard!” 

“Call them out yourself,” chattered the trembling 
chamberlain, frightened out of his usual submissive- 
ness. “I’ll not stir from this tree.” Crunch made a 
snatch at Mustafa, but the Cowardly Lion hastily inter¬ 
vened. Wicked though Mustafa had been, the kind- 
hearted lion was not going to stand by and see him 
crushed to a crumble. He motioned for Crunch to fol¬ 
low him a few steps aside and quite sulkily the Stone 
Man obeyed. 

“ This is my fight,” puffed the Cowardly Lion. “ Now; 
be a good fellow and keep out of it till I need you.” 

“How long will it take?” grated Crunch, slightly 
mollified. To tell the truth, he wanted to think over 
the formula needed to change the Cowardly Lion. One 
of the magic words had slipped his stone memory. 

“Oh, an hour or two,” answered the lion uneasily, de¬ 
termined, if he could, to escape from both of these 
treacherous villains. 

“All right, old fellow,” Crunch smiled as he said this. 

272 
























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< ' 



































































































































Crunch, the stone giant, picked up the Cowardly Lion, who tried to 

wiggle from ms grasp —Chapter 20 
























































Chapter Twenty 


He felt he could afford to be generous, for in a few hours 
the Cowardly Lion would belong to him for good. So 
he leaned stolidly against the enclosure, while the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion hurried after Mustafa, who was running in 
a cloud of sand toward his tent. 

“Where’s that animated tombstone?” gasped Mus¬ 
tafa, sinking down on his throne. 

“Outside,” panted the Cowardly Lion, too tired to 
notice the signal that passed between Mustafa and two 
Guardsmen in the opening of the tent. In an instant 
a gold collar and chain had been clapped ’round his 
tawny neck. 

“Now then,” exulted Mustafa, “who says you’re not 
captured.” Forgetting all about the Stone Man and 
his threats, he bade the two Guardsmen drag the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion to the royal enclosure. As they left through 
an opening in another side of the tent, Crunch knew 
nothing of their going. The Cowardly Lion planted all 
four feet and roared terribly but six more Guardsmen 
came to help the others and ignominiously he was 
dragged along. 

“Now we shall see a famous fight, and discover 
whether this Cowardly Lion is as brave as he is said to 
be,” chuckled Mustafa, shuffling along beside him. The 
part of the enclosure to which they were taking the lion 
273 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


was widened out into a regular arena. Already the nine 
thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine lions, with 
noses pressed against the bars, were watching the ap¬ 
proach of their rival. For Mustafa had talked so long 
and tiresomely of the Cowardly Lion, who was coming 
to fight the whole company of them, that they consid¬ 
ered him an enemy to be destroyed upon the spot. They 
did not have long to wait, for while two Guardsmen 
opened the gates of the enclosure, six more with the 
ends of their scimitars urged the Cowardly Lion for¬ 
ward. Stars! What an array of eyes, tails and gleam¬ 
ing teeth! What a thunder of savage growls, roars and 
rumbles! 

Before they made a spring at the Cowardly Lion an 
unexpected interruption startled them. It was Sir 
Hokus of Pokes, falling down like a ton of kitchen tins 
beside the monarch of Mudge. And before the lions 
had stopped blinking at that, down rattled the Tin 
Woodman and Tik Tok, Glinda and the little Wizard 
of Oz, followed by Dorothy, Snorer and Bob and last 
of all, Ozma, the Scarecrow and Notta Bit More. 

“Help!” screeched the Guards running in every di¬ 
rection. 

“It’s raining royalty! ” shrilled Tazzywaller, who had 
sneaked out to witness the fight. “Fly for your life!” 

274 



Chapter Twenty 


The fat little lion feeder tugged at Mustafa’s robe, for 
he had at once recognized Princess Dorothy and Ozma 
of Oz. But before Mustafa could flee, or the company 
from the Emerald City had caught their breath, Mus¬ 
tafa’s lions, recovering from the shock of so many fall- 
ers, sprang with nine thousand different dreadful roars 
toward the Cowardly Lion. 

Dorothy screamed and the Scarecrow recklessly tried 
to squeeze himself through the bars, but before any¬ 
one from the Emerald City could raise a hand, Crunch, 
aroused by the thumps and roars, came pounding upon 
the scene. Just as the Cowardly Lion crouched to meet 
the overwhelming rush of Mustafa’s lions, the Stone 
Man held up his arm and shouted seven magic words! 


275 




CHAPTER 21 

Oz Magic Triumphs 

S EVEN magic words! No sooner were they uttered 
than the nine thousand nine hundred and ninety- 
nine lions were turned to so many stone statues—some 
just as they were about to spring, some half way in the 
air, so that they came clattering heavily down one on 
top of the other, and the poor Cowardly Lion at the bot- 
ton of the heap! 


276 



Chapter Twenty-One 

“Somebody stop him!” gasped Ozma who was sit¬ 
ting exactly as she had fallen on a small sand dune. Sir 
Hokus of Pokes sprang bravely at Crunch, but his 
sword snapped at the first thrust, and the Stone Man, 
paying no more attention to the people from the Em¬ 
erald City than if they had been so many flies, began 
bending out the iron bars of the lion enclosure. Mus¬ 
tafa, petrified with terror, might have been a statue 
himself, and the Mudger Guards had long since taken 
to their heels. 

“What have you done?” wailed Notta, trying to at¬ 
tract the Stone Man’s attention. He seized an iron bar 
that Crouch had loosened and began valiantly belab¬ 
oring Crunch about the shins. 

“Oh, hello!” rasped Crouch, glancing down at the 
clown. “Back again? Well, I’ve taken your advice, 
you see.” 

“My advice!” groaned Notta. 

“ Yes.” Crunch, who had now broken an opening for 
himself, stepped into the enclosure. “I’ve helped the 
Cowardly Lion by changing him to stone. Now he will 
never feel cowardly again, and what’s more, he belongs 
to me!” Leaning over, he began tossing Mustafa’s 
lions aside as if they had been so many paper weights. 

“Oh, help!” screamed Snorer. “Aren’t there any 
277 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


wizards here to stop this fellow? Are you going to sit 
like images while he runs off with the bravest lion 
in Oz?” 

“I must think!” groaned the Scarecrow, putting his 
white cotton glove to his head, while Dorothy and Bob 
ran close to the bars and looked anxiously for the first 
glimpse of their old friend. 

But Grlinda and the Wizard of Oz already had their 
heads together. “First,” whispered the little Wizard 
of Oz, “ we will let him find the Cowardly Lion, for those 
statues would be too heavy for us to lift. Then, we will 
deprive him of all power to move.” 

Tik Tok and Sir Hokus had followed the Stone Man 
into the enclosure, but a stone lion flung carelessly to 
one side, knocked Tik Tok head over heels, and Sir 
Hokus, deciding that flight was the better part of valor, 
retired to a safe distance, where he began threatening 
the Stone Man with every sort of destruction from ham¬ 
mering to hanging. But Crunch continued calmly toss¬ 
ing the lions about, and at last uncovered the Cowardly 
Lion himself. He recognized him at once, for his mane, 
a mass of stony waves, stood straight on end. The Cow¬ 
ardly Lion, you see, had been petrified in one of his 
most trying moments, and, while he was preparing to 
fight with all his might, he could not control his mane 
278 



Chapter Twenty-One 


and hence looked as natural as possible. 

Dorothy could not help crying as Crunch tucked this 
lifelike image of her old chum under his arm and pre¬ 
pared to tramp off. But he got no further than two 
steps, for at the second step the combined magic of 



Glinda and the Wizard of Oz deprived him of all power 
to move. Crunch dropped the Cowardly Lion with a 
crash that chipped off a piece of his mane, and with one 
foot raised in the air stood perfectly motionless. The 
Stone Man was no longer alive! 

“Oh!” cried Notta, frightened by the ease with which 
279 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

Grlinda had deprived the stone giant of life, “who will 
bring the Cowardly Lion to himself again?” And at 
once everyone ran over to the poor petrified lion, and 
tugging and pulling, managed to get him to his feet. 

“It was the only thing we could do,” puffed the little 
Wizard of Oz, gazing up worriedly at the huge statue 
of Crunch. “He did not know how to use the gift of 
life, and would only have brought more trouble upon 
us.” 

“Isn’t this trouble enough?” cried Dorothy, throw¬ 
ing her arms around the cold, still figure of the Cow¬ 
ardly Lion. 

“There, there, my dear! Glinda will find a way out 
of all this,” comforted the Scarecrow, and Notta and 
Bob joined him in his efforts to console the little girl, 
while Sir Hokus and the Tin Woodman ran to help Tik 
Tok to his feet. 

“All this has happened because of you!” declared 
Ozma, stamping her foot for the first time in her gentle 
little life, and looking sternly at Mustafa. 

“And for a punishment,” she pointed at the huge, 
craggy figure of Crunch, “for a punishment this Stone 
Man shall stand forever in Mudge, a monument to your 
greediness and folly.” 

“Take away his ring,” whispered Bob, tiptoeing up 
280 

















































































. 















































. 



























































































I 




















































Chapter Twenty-One 


to the little fairy ruler, for he had seen Mustafa slyly 
beginning to take it off and Bob knew its dreadful 
power* Without losing a minute, Ozma commanded 
Mustafa to hand over the ring. Tremblingly, the 
wretched old Mudger obeyed. So much had happened 
in the last few minutes, he was positively stunned by 
his misfortune. Not only had he offended the ruler of 
all Oz, lost the Cowardly Lion and his ring, but all of 
his other lions were turned to stone. Jerking his tur¬ 
ban over one eye, the miserable monarch shuffled 
mournfully to his tent, and no one cared enough to stop 
him. Then, as the whole party was heartily disgusted 
with the hot, desert city of the Mudgers, Glinda, by a 
quick transportation phrase, wished them all safely 
back to the Emerald City. 

There, for several hours Glinda, the Wizard of Oz, 
and Ozma worked over the Cowardly Lion, but all of 
their magic failed to undo the Stone Man’s spell, and 
it looked as if the huge beast would have to spend the 
rest of his life as a garden ornament. Twenty of the 
palace servants bore him down the steps and placed 
him gently in the center of a large flower bed, and all 
the inhabitants of the city came and gazed sadly at 
their once lively and cowardly comrade. 

“He is the image of himself,” choked the Scarecrow, 
281 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

hanging a wreath of daisies round his neck, which was 
still adorned with Mustafa’s gold collar. 

“ But I don’t want an image,” cried Princess Dorothy 
and, climbing on the Cowardly Lion’s stone back, she 
cried as if her heart would break. Notta and Bob were 
too overcome by this dreadful misfortune to think about 
themselves. It did not even seem right to enjoy the 
lovely sights in the Emerald City, so the clown and lit¬ 
tle boy sat on a bench in the garden and gazed sorrow¬ 
fully at the monument of their faithful old friend. 

Then, all at once Bob jumped up with a little shout. 
“Look,” he cried, waving his cap joyfully. “Look! He’s 
coming alive again!” And so he was! For tears are 
more magic than anything else, when it comes to melt¬ 
ing stone, and every spot where Dorothy’s tears fell 
was beginning to quiver with life. When Notta ran 
to the palace with the news, the excitement was tre¬ 
mendous. Everyone, from Ozma down to the littlest 
kitchen maid, came to weep over the Cowardly Lion, 
and bring him back to life. The Tin Woodman cried 
a perfect torrent of tears and quite rusted his chain. 
The Scarecrow and Scraps had not a tear in their cot¬ 
ton constitutions, but Snorer made up for this by cry¬ 
ing enough for three. Everybody cried, and in less 
than a minute the dear, old kind-hearted lion opened 
282 



Chapter Twenty-One 

his eyes. Shaking himself sleepily, he looked inquir¬ 
ingly at the weeping company and wanted to know 
what was the matter. All talking at once, and each 
trying to hug him first, they explained what had hap¬ 
pened. The Cowardly Lion remembered nothing after 



being pushed into the lion enclosure. You can well 
imagine his relief when he discovered what a hard and 
horrible fate he had escaped. 

“ All this comes of my foolish wish for courage,” 
roared the Cowardly Lion, shaking his mane, which was 
quite perfect except for the piece Crunch had broken 
283 




The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


off. “I would rather be a Cowardly Lion for five min¬ 
utes than a stone lion for a century. Why, a stone lion 
has not enough sense to be frightened.” 

“Hurrah for the Cowardly Lion of Oz!” shouted the 
Scarecrow, and Bob Up, who felt more at home among 
these odd and friendly people than he had ever felt 
anywhere in his life, climbed on the Cowardly Lion’s 
back and hugged him with both arms. Dorothy hopped 
up again too, and in triumph they all trooped back to 
the throne room. 



284 




CHAPTER 22 

A Happy Home in Oz 

“ A ND now,” sighed the little Queen of Oz, sinking 
down among the soft cushions of her emerald 
throne, “let’s have the whole story!” Nothing could 
have exceeded her amazement, as Notta told of their 
marvelous adventures in Oz—of Doorways and 
Un and Preserva the Great, of the Flyaboutabus and 
the Fiddlebow Boat. Dorothy was so curious about the 
285 




The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


Skyle of Un that they all ran to look in Ozma’s Magic 
Picture, which shows any place or person one wishes 
to see. 

“Show us the Tins,” commanded Ozma breathlessly, 
and Bob and Notta almost tumbled over backwards 
when the Magic Picture showed them I-wish-I-was and 
his Featherheads. A great battle was in progress, for 
I-wish-I-was was furious at the loss of the Flyabouta- 
bus. The Guards and their friends on one side and the 
wicked ruler on the other were fighting tumultuously. 
Sticks and feathers were flying in every direction and 
they were even pulling down their tree houses. 

Ozma shook her head gravely, but Bob Up, who had 
been thinking about the only good Un ever since they 
left the skyland, suddenly remembered his name and 
triumphantly whispered it to Ozma. Instantly Ozma, 
with the help of Glinda and the Wizard, commanded 
the good Un to come out from his hiding and sit upon 
the throne. The fighting ceased at once and the Uns 
began to look at one another with puzzled expressions, 
as if they could not remember what they had been quar¬ 
reling about. Bob and Notta and the Cowardly Lion 
shouted with approval, forgetting in their interest that 
the Uns in the picture could not hear them. 

The good Un’s name was Unselfish and, as Glinda as- 
286 



Chapter Twenty-Two 


sured Ozma that the skyle would thereafter be ruled 
wisely and well, they all returned to the throne room. 
After Dorothy had hugged Notta a dozen times for his 
devotion to the Cowardly Lion, and the clown had 
turned his best somersaults, told his best jokes and gen¬ 



erally made himself so funny that everyone was doubled 
up with laughter, Ozma again raised her scepter for 
silence. 

“I suppose,” said the little fairy regretfully, for she 
had taken a great fancy to the clown and Snorer and 

287 






The Cowardly Lion of Oz 


Bob Up, “I suppose that now you are anxious to re¬ 
turn to America.” 

Notta took off his cap and scratched his ear, a habit 
he had when puzzled or embarrassed. 

“Don’t go yet!” begged Dorothy, seizing the clown’s 
arm imploringly. As for Bob Up, he retired behind an 
emerald pillar so that no one could see that he was 
crying. 

“ Oh, yes,” cawed Snorer, flapping down from the 
back of a tall chair where he had been enjoying a noisy 
little nap. “ Oh, yes, we must go to America and make 
our fortune. I am going to have my nose patented and 
teach the people there how to snore properly.” 

“That’s right,” agreed Notta soberly. “I’m a family 
man now and must go back and earn enough to send 
Bob to college, and I must save up for my old age, for 
clowns can’t be tumbling around the country forever.” 

“Why, it’s nothing but fun,” cried Scraps, who had 
been quiet as long as she could contain herself. 

“ Not always,” sighed Notta. “ Making people laugh 
is the hardest work in the world. Look how easy it is 
to make them cry? But come along, Bob Up. It’s high 
time we were going, and if this little lady will just say 
the magic word we’ll bid you all good-bye. I must be 
saving up for my old age,” he repeated mournfully. 

288 



Chapter Twenty-Two 


When Notta was sad, he always thought about his 
old age, and the idea of leaving the Cowardly Lion and 
all of this merry and childlike company made him sad 
indeed. And Ozma, who is the cleverest little mind and 
heart reader anywhere in the world or out—Ozma 
guessed his secret. 

“ Don’t go! ” cried the little Queen impulsively. “ Stay 
with us and you won’t have any old age. Stay in Oz, 
dear Notta, and be happy forever.” 

At this the excitement was terrific. Every man, 
woman, child, animal, and celebrity added his or her 
voice to Ozma’s, and when the clown, with tears in his 
eyes, accepted the little Queen’s generous offer, they 
seized hands or paws, as the case might be, and danced 
merrily ’round Bob, Snorer and Notta Bit More. 

“You shall have the joiliest cottage in Oz,” promised 
the Scarecrow, when the excitement had subsided a bit. 

“A tent would seem more homelike,” whispered 
Notta in the cloth ear of that charming gentleman. And 
a tent he did have, on the outskirts of the Emerald City 
—a tent shared with Snorer and Bob, where, with the 
help of the charming and unusual inhabitants of Oz, the 
clown gave the most surprising shows that had ever 
been seen in that magical country. 

Bob, in his good fortune, did not forget the half a 
289 



The Cowardly Lion of Oz 

lion, and the Wizard of Oz reunited the unfortunate 
creature, after bringing both halves, with the aid of Oz- 
ma’s magic belt, to the Emerald City. The poor beast, 
whose hind quarters had fortunately escaped Crunch’s 
stone spell, was so overjoyed to see his tail again that 



he raced round in circles for several hours after his 
reunion. 


As for Mustafa, he grew amazingly rich from the sale 
of his stone lions, and you can see them any fine day, 
guarding the doors of public buildings or standing 
proudly in the various parks of Oz. But in spite of his 
290 




Chapter Twenty-Two 


great wealth, he was far from happy, for his eyes, from 
staring so hard at his ring, had become hopelessly 
crossed, and cross-eyed he remained to the end of his 
days. 

Bob Up is friends with everyone, but most of all with 
Button Bright, a little boy who once visited Sky Island 
and who could not hear enough of the Skyle of Un. 

Notta has saved up enough for Bob’s entire education 
and has gone off to confer with Professor Wogglebug, 
President of the College of Art and Athletic Perfection, 
about the future of the little boy. 



291 



1 ft S 32 


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